Reckless
by dramababe16
Summary: Mia is out of control and Dom's decided it's the end. Putting all the blame on Mia's partner in crime Letty, he has every reason in the world to hate her and can't understand why he's falling for her so hard and so quick.
1. Chapter 1

**Reckless**

**Chapter One**

"Hey Let, which club should we go tonight?" Mia called out to Letty from her spot on the living room floor of their condo. She was eating three minute noodles with her hands out of a tea cup. Her feet were perched on the table moving with the music they had blaring in through their sound system.

"I don't know. You choose."

"What about Venom? They have kickass music." She dangled the noodles over her mouth waiting for an answer.

"You know that's Ash's favorite spot. I don't want to see him right now, guy's a total dickface."

"Get over it Letty. You guys broke up years ago."

"I can't stand him Mia. Everytime I see him he thinks it's because I want to get back together with him. He's a pig."

"Then why were you with him in the first place?"

"It's complicated." Letty dismissed it shaking her head.

"Please. Letty. I really wanna dance tonight and they play the best music. Plus we get in for free cause we're hot." Mia baited as Letty came out of her bedroom in a tiny dark blue dress. It hugged her every which way and ended mid thigh. She was strapping up her pumps when she finally relented and agreed to go to Venom.

Mia went to get changed and came out minutes later in a tight denim skirt and an off shoulder slinky red top. She was coming her fingers through her hair with one hand and jiggling a small plastic bag with the other.

"Wanna get the party started here?" Mia said.

"Yes please."  
Mia and stooped down to the glass table in the living room like it was their ritual which it could have been since they did it every night, and shook out just enough cocaine to get them going. Using the edge of a picture frame from the coffee table Mia cut two lines and they sniffed them simultaneously. Dusting her nose Letty slowly sat up knowing all too well the initial effects of the drug.

"Where'd you get it? That guy behind the Chinese restaurant?"

"No his own isn't strong enough, the one next to the strip joint. Hairy guy, somethings off it seems even he is dropping in quality that was bullshit." She looked at the small bag frowning. "What a fing ripoff."

"Mia I told you not to go there alone. There are rumours about that guy. He like stabbed somebody or something."  
Mia burst out laughing as she got to her feet again.

"Yeah right, cause crack head junkies are reliable sources of intel."

"Whatever Mia, promise me you won't go back there alone."

"I promise geez. Don't get your panties in a bunch, or red thongs in your case."

"Let's just go." Letty followed her out the door with a grave feeling in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

"What are you doing? I think it should be written in stone that you're not allowed to tweet when you're wasted."

"I'm not wasted, not yet anyway." She pulled out another plastic bag from her bra and snorted more from her palm.

"I'm not sharing with the rest of this so if you want it's now or never."

"I'm driving Mia. You want me to wrap us around a lampole."

"Yeah yeah all I heard was that you don't want anymore."

Just as Letty mentioned her driving they heard sirens and the flashing light affected Mia immediately. She buried her head in her palms as Letty pulled over.

"I told you we should have fixed that tail light." Mia argued in a shushed voice. "Was the X worth it?"

"I think you know the answer to that." Letty said looking out the window to see a familiar cop approaching them.

"It's the same guy. O'Connor. He totally let's us off the hook. He has a thing for you." Letty turned to see Mia, she looked a mess. She dug into her glove compartment and handed her large sunglasses. Mia slipped them on just in time as Brian leaned into Letty's window.

"Ladies."

"Hey Brian. What a nice surprise." Mia managed without stammering. The sunglasses covered her bloodshot red eyes which was the only indication that she was high.

"You know why I pulled you over. That tail light isn't fixed yet."

"You know what Brian you're right. I don't want to put you in a compromising position. We'll fix it immediately. The very next time you see us it'll be fix, if not then we'll take the ticket."

"That's what you said last time."

"Mia said that last time and she rarely ever knows what she's talking about. I'll take the lead this time and actually get it done."

He looked at Letty and sighed loudly. "Okay fine, but this is your last free pass okay. I mean it."

"Thanks Brian. I'll bring you a cookie next time I see you."

"Hopefully it's not under these circumstances. You ladies going to Venom tonight?"  
They looked at him with questioning looks.

"I'm on the streets a lot, you pick up on some things after some time. Just be careful okay."

"Thanks for your concern Officer but we'll be fine. It should be a quiet night."

"Don't forget the tail light."  
Letty winded up her glass again and they took off. Mia took off Letty's sunglasses and tossed them in the back-seat.

"He always tells us to be careful."

"I think that's directed at you, he's smitten like a lovesick kitten."

"Brian, please. He's a cop. I can give a million reasons why that would never work and the first one being the bag of cocaine in my bra."  
Letty laughed as she sped along the streets to the club.

"Who'd you do last night?"  
Letty frowned rolling her eyes, "No one."

"Didn't you leave with what'shisface?"

"Cole, uhuh. We fooled around for like an hour before I realized the guy had no idea what he was doing."

Mia laughed hysterically at that.

"You're laughing but I'm serious a lesson on female anatomy will do him good."

"Well that and a map to find my cl-"  
Mia's phone went off but she ignored the call as soon as she saw the caller ID.

"Who don't you want to talk to?"

"Mind your business babe. Sucks when I do it doesn't it? You're on that phone of yours day and night chatting away some guy and you keep it a secret, well try to. Now we both have secrets."

"It's not a secret, I'm not keeping it from you and believe me he's just a friend."

"Then why does your phone have more security than fort knox."

"You tried to get into my phone?"

"I didn't say that exactly."

"Yeah yeah, you're a shitty liar."

It was a good hour drive and the girls were anticipating letting loose, they craved it. Every time the morning came and they were passed out on their apartment floor the second they woke it was the night life they looked forward to. Surely they were out of control, they both knew it but neither cared enough to stop it. They were drowning and didn't see a reason to change.

It was like drugs bounded their friendship and they enabled each other knowing it. In one word they were reckless.

* * *

Venom was especially electrifying that night and that may or may not had something to do with complimentary pills they were handing out at the door. The experienced party goers crushed the pills with their heels knowing better to take a drug of unknown origin. As screwed up as it was they trusted certain people when it came to drug distribution and the bouncer was not one of them.

With their complementary glowing necklaces and bracelets they went directly to the dance floor. Making their mark for at least half an hour in the mass of sweaty bodies gyrating on each other they both got tired eventually.

"Let's get some drinks." Letty said into Mia's ear to be heard over the loud music.

They crossed the dance floor of wet bodies grinding on each other in a montage of strobbing neon lights and loud music that just sounded like base to get the bar.

Apart from the martinis they were drinking they did four shots each. Two from the bartender who thought they were too hot not to get free shots and two more from a random guy across the bar.  
Downing the last of their drinks they began to scan the club, they rarely paid for drinks and drugs and that was solely based on how good looking they both were.

Sometime while scanning the club Mia got spooked and immediately turned her back to the entrance of the club.  
"Shit." She yelled though it sounded like a hiss under the loud music.

"What?"

"My brother is here." She looked like she was about to pass out.

"No shit, who is he. I've never met him."

"You've never met him because he's a controlling prick. All he does is bring pain to people in his life. How the hell did he even find me?" Mia spared a glance and Letty followed her eyes to the handsome man in the leather jacket.

"Damn Mia, he's sexy a fuck, how could you not tell me he looked like that."

"Shut up. I can't deal with this now. I need Travis."  
Travis was Mia's personal cocaine cow. It was no secret that he was in love with Mia and whenever she said cocaine he asked how much. Wherever he got his fix from it was quality and 'safe' as far as Letty knew.

"I think I saw him under the DJ booth chill girl, so that outfit isn't every big brothers dream you're an adult barely but still an adult what's he gonna do? Ground you?"

Mia looked sicker than before.  
"I'll find you later. If I'm going to deal with my brother I need more than that small bag. Travis always has the good stuff anyway."  
Mia stumbled through the crowd back across the dance floor skilfully hiding from her brother. Letty shook her head after the girl. Her brother hadn't even made it down into the main club yet so Letty didn't know why she was wigging out.  
There were some lounge areas slightly elevated and it was obvious he was looking for her. He looked unamused by what was going on around him including the women that were taking notice of how handsome he was. He brushed them all off and continued scanning the club with his eyes.

Mia had never spoken about her brother much, other than he had looked for her after she ran away at seventeen. He reported her missing and she was ultimately found at a distant cousin's house. She told Letty she was forced to finish high school but ran away a second time saying she was going to the prom but just never went back home. Letty met Mia at a club on her eighteenth birthday and they'd been inseparable since.

Letty stayed at the bar looking out but she eventually lost the six foot hunk and was drawn out of her reverie.

"Guess who baby." She knew his voice, knew who's hand it was gripping hers until she turned and faced him. He was grinning and she honestly would rather be anywhere else.

"What do you want Asher?"

"Mmm 's no way to talk to your man."

"Ex-man. We dated years ago and you need to move on."

"Come chill with me in the VIP lounge. I got something for you."

"No thanks."

"You're sure I can't convince you?"  
She didn't like that smug smile he wore, like he knew something she didn't.  
Something was being slipped into her hands and she cursed under her breath. When she looked down it was a mint container filled with Ecstasy. Asher unfortunately knew her well enough to know that she had quite the taste for MDMA. She looked down at the capsule and her mind was already made up. Asher himself was the one who had made her develop a taste for Ecstasy.

"Fine, lead the way."

"There's a lot more where that came from baby."  
While he led her to VIP lounge she looked back and saw Mia cradled with Travis on the dance floor. She shook her head and turned back to Asher who boldly wrapped his arms around her waist. She let him just because his touch was familiar and there was still a part of that was very attracted to him. He was tall and lean with dark hair just like hers. She would spend hours wrapped up in the sheets with him. Not that their relationship was just physical but it was mostly physical.

The lounge was just as Letty remembered, a free soft-porn show. As they passed the other occupied booths through the sheer curtain she saw couples basically dry humping.

She sat next to Asher and he scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I miss you baby." He said huskily into her ear brushing his lips against her neck until he inched his way across her cheek and kissed her lips. She allowed it to happen until he was probing her lips apart with his tongue. She pressed her hand to his chest and pushed him away.

"That's not what's going to happen here."

"Same ole' Letty."

"Same ole' Ash."

"You used to like it Letty, when did you get so frigid?"  
She got up but he held her back.  
"Sorry, you just don't look this good and tell me I can't touch."

"Yes I can, we're not together anymore Ash. Don't you have something for me?"

"All business, no play."  
She opened the mint capsule and frowned when she saw how many pills were in it.

"Come on Ash, you an do better than that."

He pulled out a ziplock bag from his pocket filled with Ecstasy pills.  
Her gaze fell on the colorful pills and she heard him chuckle.

"Where'd you get it?"

"Johnny,"

"Which Johnny?"

"Johnny P. Why?"

"Because I don't wanna see your smug face everytime I want something."  
He ordered drinks while she stuffed the capsule to capacity.

Ash remembered her favorite drink and ordered her a martini and a scotch for himself.  
"To old times." He said holding up his drink.

"How about to not happening."  
She got up with her drink but was again pulled back down.  
"I didn't tell you about Johnny P yet. Why are you in such a rush to get away from me. It's not like we're strangers...far from it actually."  
She felt his breath on her neck and the familiar thing caught her sitting next to him again.

"He's looking for some distributors. Someone well connected, someone who knows everyone in our scene."

"And you recommended me?" She asked her eyebrows climbing her forehead.

"Who else? You know all the right people, say all the right things. You'd be perfect."

"I don't know Ash, things can get dangerous if I'm selling."

"Mami, would I ever let anything happen to you?"  
She rolled her eyes, Asher was a lot of things, but knight in shining armor wasn't one of them.

"Give me his number and I'll consider it."

"That's all I'm asking," he scribbled something on a napkin and tucked it into her breast, "drink up."  
By her third sip she knew something was wrong when she couldn't hold the glass in her hand anymore. All her muscles felt retarded and she couldn't process thought long enough to draw any conclusions as to what was going on.

"I think you want to get back with me just as much as I want to get back with you." Ash whispered in her ear, she felt his lips on hers i the next instant. She could barely raise her hand to push him away. His tongue soon invaded her mouth and whatever drug he had slipped in her drink kept her gag reflex at bay because it was she wanted to do as his hands roamed her body but she was powerless to do anything about it.

* * *

Dom powered down the drill blowing the tip of dust.  
"That should do it." He rocked the bolt he just installed on the windows in Mia's bedroom.

"All good in here?" Vince asked from the doorway.

"Yup, sealed tight."

"You're sure about this?"

"I'm not sure about anything but I'm not gonna do nothing and wait for her to turn up dead because of an OD. She's my babysister."

"Then let's do it."  
Downstairs Leon was hovering over his laptop at the kitchen table.

"What do you got for me?"

"Her twitter feed says she'll be at club Venom tonight with her girl Letty and they plan on getting smashed."

"I know Venom that place is always on the news, it gets pretty wild." Leon said, "And who is Letty."

"The seed of chucky. Mia's partner in crime, that woman is the reason Mia is so messed up in the first place, I'm not her biggest fan."

"Oh, where'd you guys meet?"

"Well we haven't met exactly. I just know of her and what she gets into with Mia. The sooner we get Mia away from her the better."

"If you say so, I think tonight is our best bet at getting her."

"Thanks for everything, me and Vince will go get her."

"Messed up that it's come to you kidnapping your own sister."

"It's the only way, she won't give me the time of day when I ask nicely."

"Just bring her back okay."

"Get some rest, when Mia get's here expect hell."

Vince and Dom left for the club. They didn't know what to expect or how they were going to find her in such a popular club. Dom knew the time for convincing Mia was over, he had to make the decision for her before he had to go down to the morgue to identify her body. The thought of that made him clench up internally and made him drive faster. He wasn't going to lose his baby sister to drugs and a bad influence named Letty.

He got over paying an insane amount of money for a wristband that allowed them access to the club when he saw the rage inside the club. There was no way he'd be able to pick Mia out of the crowded club. He had a heck of night in front of him.

"Split up, text me if you find her. Don't approach her by yourself cause she'll make a run for it.

"It's been so long I don't know if I'll even recognize her."

"Same," He said casting his eyes down onto the dance floor. The strobing lights confused him and there was barely any lighting other than the bar so he decided to go there first.

His vision improved standing at the bar and there was hope he'd be able to find her.

"Frankie, can I get a bottle of champagne."

"No problem Travis."  
Dom wasn't paying attention to the exchange behind him but his eyes followed the man back across the dancefloor, he saw him hand Mia the bottle and took out his phone almost instantly. The odds that he found her so quickly were slim but he was grateful. He text Vince and started across the dancefloor pushing his way passed sweaty bodies to get to her.

It stunned him how she drank so much in so little time, the champagne bottle was half empty when he caught up with her. Apart from her being so tiny no twenty one year old should be able to handle that much liquor. Her eyes bugged out and she tore the bottle away from her lips when she saw him.

"What the hell Dom, you stalking me now?"  
Before he could get a word out Travis wrapped his arm around Mia unknowingly putting himself in danger.

"I don't think the lady wants you here buddy."

"Get your fucking hands off my little sister you piece of shit."

"You didn't tell me you had a brother babe." Travis said a nervous tremor in his voice as he did what he was told.

"You're coming home right now."

Dom took her by the hand and it didn't matter how much she riled up he had a firm grip on her arm.

"Stop embarrassing me Dom, if you want to talk I'll come later but I'm not leaving here without Letty." She stomped her heels until he was dragging her.

"You're not serious right now Mia." They made it to the bar where Vince was waiting on him.

"I'll scream bloody murder if I don't leave here with Letty."

Dom was on the verge of having an aneurysm.  
"Fine, still a spoiled brat, where the hell is she?"

"Hey Frankie, you seen my girl?" Mia asked the bartender.

"Last I saw she was in the VIP...with Asher." Frankie looked at her shaking his head. Asher had a reputation and it wasn't a good one.

"Oh fuck it."

"What now?"

"Ash is a douche she was planning on avoiding him the entire night."

"Then why is she in the damn VIP booth with him?"

"I don't know Dom stop yelling at me. I'll go get her."

"Like hell you are." Dom pulled her back. "Vince take her to the car I'll find Letty."

"You won't get into the VIP lounge just like that Dom."

"I'll figure it out, what's this Letty look like."

"Dark hair, dark eyes-blue dress and a tat on her back."

"Get her to the car and I'll meet you there."  
Vince took Mia whining all the way to the entrance and Dom approached the velvet rope with three hundred dollars in his hand already.  
The guard took the money without question and he went in search of Letty. He'd gotten a few 'fuck offs' from opening the thin curtains separating booths without announcing himself until he got to the third to last booth. Without even pulling the curtain back he knew she was in trouble. Her quiet moans of distress rang through his ear, though he was no fan of 'Letty' he was repulsed with the idea of any woman being violated.  
When he pulled the curtain back almost ripping it from it's hinges he got a look of the scum moving his hand up her dress. Letty was obviously incapacitated fighting to the best of her ability but to no avail.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Get off of her," Dom stormed toward him but he only tightened his grip around her wrist and she winced in pain. Dom didn't want to get physical but the man was ridiculously stupid if he thought Dom would just walk out and pretend he didn't see anything. Dom pulled him off the couch by the collar of his jacket and lunged him in the corner of the booth smashing him into a small glass side table. He looked back at Letty who looked scared for her life and when he tried to help her up he realized she couldn't stand on her own two feet.  
Scooping her up bridal style he stiffened as she clung to his chest.  
"You saved me..."  
He couldn't have been sure that he heard right or heard anything for that matter as he took her outside the club.

She was a mess when he laid her in the backseat next to Mia. First impression, she was just as reckless as his sister but he sympathized with her because she could have been scarred for life if Mia didn't insist on her coming along but he had no respect for anyone who choose to live like that. At the end of the day he was doing it all for his little sister and the trainwreck he just saved would have to move on and find another impressionable girl to screw up.

"What the hell happened to her?" Mia asked as he pulled off.

"She's smashed what's it look like?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Letty never gets this wasted. The girl can handle herself something is wrong with her."

"Yeah no shit,"

"Dom I'm serious, she's burning up."  
He looked back slightly to see Letty still dazed and thrashing around as Mia petted her head.

"Alright, we'll get her back to the house."

Vince helped Letty out of the car and into the warm family home while Dom stormed in after Mia yelling at each other in Italian. Vince didn't speak the language but he could only assume they were exchanging nasty words by the snarls on their faces. Letty leaned on his shoulder calling for Mia but even her voice shrunk to barely a whisper.

"You are the worst! Who do you think you are? Dragging me out of the club like that, you're not my father Dom face it."

"You need to calm down, this isn't you Mia, I'm sick of it and I'm not letting you throw away your life."

"Rehab Dom, really, we talked about that already. You can't pay for it with whatever cash the garage makes and free ones aren't shit. I heard a girl got raped there."

"You're right Mia, I'm not leaving you in the hands of some strangers, you're my little sister and I'm taking care of you."

"What the hell is that supposed to-"  
Everyone noticed when Letty stumbled in her stilettos. "I don't feel very good Mi," She whispered before collapsing to the ground. Mia got to her knees and turned her around but she was passed out. She felt her forehead and pulled her eyes lids down.

"We have to get her to the ER."

"She'll be fine, she just needs to sleep it off." Mia told them with conviction.

"This conversation isn't over." Dom said picking Letty up like he did earlier that night. He took her upstairs and laid her on the bottom of Mia's old bunk bed. He took off her heels shaking his head at it's ridiculous length and covered her with a blanket. If he didn't know any better he'd... She had one of those faces, he removed the hair from her face and shook his head when Mia popped into his head. She destroyed his sister and he wasn't going to let her pretty face have him go easy on her and overlook what she did.

Downstairs Mia was at the kitchen table, she appeared to be drinking tea a lot calmer than she was before.

"I'll stop by in the morning." Vince told him on his way out.

Dom nodded silently thanking him for his help.

"The second Letty wakes up we're outta here."

"You're not leaving Mia, not until you're clean."

"Don't be a dick, you can't tell me what to do."

"It ends now Mia, you literally can't leave this house."  
Mia stared at him for a while disbelieving of his words until she got up and went to the front door. Dom sat on the steps dangling keys in his hands. Mia looked to the door again and had just realized that there was a huge padlock on the door.

"This is a joke, give me the damn keys Dom."

"You'll get the damn keys when you're clean," he gave the pad lock one more tug securing that it wasn't going anywhere and looked back to Mia expectantly. "Welcome to rehab."


	2. Chapter 2

**Reckless**

**Chapter two**

Letty stirred as an annoying ray of sunlight assaulted her. She opened her eyes and everything hit her at once. There was a ringing in her ears, she had a pounding headache and her body felt two steps behind her brain. Easing herself up she realized she wasn't at the apartment. It confused her even more when she took in the room filled with pink pony stuffed animals and a pair of pompoms mounted on the wall adjacent from the bed.

'What happened last night' kept replaying in her head as she took up her shoes from the floor and slowly got out of bed. Everything was a blank, she remembered going to club Venom with Mia, getting free drinks and talking with Asher and the rest was like a giant black wall stonewalling her in the face everything time she tried to remember. She opened the door and peeked both ways before tiptoeing down the stairs and finally relaxing when she saw Mia pacing in front of the door.

"What happened last night girl?"  
Letty was rubbing the side of her head with her free hand.

"You don't remember what happened last night?"

"Hell no, what the hell did I get myself into and where are we?"

"You're in my house." Dom said coming from the kitchen in anything but a welcoming voice.

"Letty this is my idiot brother Dom, who's kidnapping me."

"Did I miss something." She said rubbing her head still plenty foggy from the previous night.

"Yeah you did, when you were passed out last night." Dom snapped.

Letty glared at Dom with a hand on her waist unsure of why he was being so rude to her.  
"What the fuck is your problem or are you just naturally a dickhole?"  
"I like this chick." Vince said coming out of the kitchen behind Dom with a large bowl of cereal. "I'm Vince, nice to meet ya Letty." He waved but Letty just looked more confused.

"You too, either one of you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Mia is my little sister and she's going to stay here until she cleans herself up. You can get out of my house anytime now. End of discussion."

"You're delusional, you can't keep me here Dom, it's screwed up." Mia screamed in Dom's face.

Letty's head spun at the chaos going on around along with the foggy memories from last night. "Mia calm down."

Letty gently pushed her in Vince's direction.  
"Vince right? Can me and the idiot brother have a word please."  
Vince took a reluctant Mia to the kitchen and Letty knew she would have to speak softly not to be heard.

"You care about your sister, I get it. But shoving this down her throat isn't the way to do it. She's going to keep fighting you on this."

"You're trying to tell me what to do with my sister?"

"The same sister you haven't seen in almost two years, like it or not you don't know that girl in the next room. She's a different person who slept in that pony themed room. I only want what's best for Mia-"

"That's rich coming from the girl who get's wasted with her every night."

"You don't know shit about me and right now I'm the only one in this house she's going to listen to if you want my help you could lose the fucking attitude and don't assume you know me because you don't."

"If you care about her as much as you claim then help me keep her here." He said humbly.

"I'll try but she isn't your biggest fan."

"I'm supposed to trust my sister with you." Dom took another look at her smeared make -up and bedhead before leaving her alone.

* * *

"I can't believe you liked ponies." Letty said rolling over so Mia could join her on the bunk bed.

"That was a long time ago, I'm not that girl any more."

"Yeah I figured, what do you think?"

"I think I don't want to be anywhere near my brother, he's a hypocrite acting like he's perfect and I'm the screw up when he's the one who-"

"What happened between you two anyway?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Come on Mi, I really want to know, please."

Mia sighed looking at Letty, she couldn't possibly say no to the person who gave her a place to live and stopped her from couch hopping. She owed Letty too much and it aggravated her that she never asked for anything in return.

"His name was Jesse and I loved him,"

"Ah, it's always a boy isn't it. Your brother didn't approve?"

"No he did, Jesse was the only guy I dated that Dom liked. He adored the kid almost as much I did if not more. I was sixteen and the only thing I knew about love was that I loved Jesse. Of course once Dom got his hands on Jesse I fell second, right behind my brother. Fucking gravity that son of a bitch!"

"What happened?"

"Dom took him under his wing and that was all he had to do-they got into all kinds of trouble with the guys. Thought they were untouchable. But they got into it with the wrong people and shit hit the fan quick."

"What happened Mia?" Letty didn't want to push, Mia's eyes were already glassy.

"Jesse got shot, he died in Dom's arms and I watched the entire thing go down."

"I'm sorry Mia, I had no idea that you went through of all that. That kinda thing can mess you up. Is that when you ran away?"

It dawned on Letty that Mia may have never admitted it but watching her love get murdered triggered her destructive behavior before Letty met her.

"We couldn't even bury him properly the cops were trying to sort their shit out, kept barking something about not releasing his body because of an on going investigation and I just left the house and didn't come back. I got away with it for like a week, after that Cousin Mel called Dom and told him where I was. I guess I learned a thing or two.'

"What that your brother wanted you back?"

"No that the next time I ran away I couldn't go to a distant relative's house. So I finished senior year making them think I was okay. I got all dressed up prom night packed a small bag said I was going to a friends after and celebrate and I just never came back."

"So you haven't spoken to him since?"

"No I have, same bullshit about ruining my life. He could never convince me to come home but he's completely off his rockers now and kidnapped me, he thinks I'm some junkie."

"Then prove him wrong."

"Nu-uh, not gonna give him that satisfaction at all."

"You're not doing it for him Mia, you're doing it for yourself and for me. It's not like we could have been thirty-five and partying day in day out. I want you to beat this."

"Like you beat X?"

"That's different I can stop anytime I want."

"Said the junkie..."

"Shut up, and I'm serious."

"I hear you but there's no way I'm staying under this roof with that toxic asshole pf a brother."

"It's not like you have a choice, he's locked you in here."

"This is what an only child learns at a young age, throw a tantrum until you get what you want." Mia said getting up and heading for the door.

"You're staying?"

"On my terms...yes."

Mia ran out the room with Letty a few steps behind her. She didn't hear anything Mia said until she heard her name. She hurried down the stairs and saw Mia standing in front of her brother with a finger pointed in his face.

"You heard me, the only way I'm staying is if Letty's staying too."

"Whoa Mia..." Letty said stepping between the two siblings.

"That's not what we agreed on."

"We agreed I would stay on my terms and those are my terms. I'm not staying here without you Letty." She folded her arms, mind made up.

"You don't have a choice. You're not leaving here either way and you can't invite someone into my house without my permission. Especially not her."

"Watch it." Letty said to Dom. "Mia I have better things to do than to play house arrest with you and mediate your family problems."

"You're my problem."  
Letty spun away from Mia facing Dom's glare.  
"What did I do to you cause I'm stumped."

"You know exactly what you did so don't play innocent."

"I'm not playing anything, you need to get that stick out of your ass and stop picking on me like pre-schooler with a crush."  
With Mia forgotten they both jumped when she yelled to get their attention.

"You could try keeping me here without my permission but we'll see how that works while I'm trying to make your life a living hell." She picked up a vase from the side table and lunged it toward Dom without any hesitation leaving Dom and Letty only a second to dodge it. Dom grabbed Letty on his way down to the floor both missing the vase only barely.

"Mia relax I'll stay with you, just calm down. Please."  
Mia helped Letty up while Dom was still on the floor trying to fathom what had just happened. It wasn't the Mia he knew, he didn't know who that was.

"What the hell was that Mia?"

"That was me getting your attention and reminding you that I'm not a damn baby. I can do whatever I want, when I want." She stormed upstairs leaving Dom and Letty with headaches. Letty didn't need more stress, she already felt like she'd been run over by a truck so Mia's explosive temper and her brother's disgust didn't go down well.

Letty rubbed her temple hoping to relieve the splitting headache, instead she felt it more.  
"Today of all days." She said to herself. Looking over at Dom he only scoffed and followed Mia up the stairs.

Letty sat on the stairs trying to collect her thoughts, make sense of what was going on but it was difficult with Mia and Dom screaming at each other in Italian upstairs.  
Vince emerged from the kitchen after a small crash upstairs. He gave Letty a small smile and handed her a glass of water.

"Thanks." Another small crash made her jump but Vince laughed.

"It's been that way even before she hated his guts, nothing new."

"She doesn't hate him..." Vince shook his head. "Well maybe she does, just a little."

"Sucks you got caught in the middle of this girl."

"Not really in the middle, Mia and I have been a package deal for sometime now. I wouldn't have signed the contract if I knew that came with a neurotic big brother."

"Cut him some slack?"

"Neh, don't think so. He's not cutting me anything so I'm just repaying the favour."

Vince chuckled shaking his head.

"You're not half bad Letty."

"Yeah, too bad your friend hates my guts."

"He doesn't hate you exactly..."

"No?"

Vince relented showing her a pinch with his fingers.

"Well maybe a little."  
Letty laughed bitterly shaking her head. Of all the messes she had gotten herself into over the years, this just might be the one to ruin her.

"Don't worry, he's the least of my problems. I'm such a screw up."

Vince didn't know if she was talking to him or not so he stayed quiet and took the glass from her once she finished it.

Dom and Mia came downstairs a few minutes later seemingly resolved on something. Dom's left cheek was red and scuffed by a fingernail, Letty wished she could have seen Mia slap him.

"Letty can stay." Dom finally said but Letty wasn't having it.

"I can't stay here. I'm sorry Mia but this can't work."

"Letty I can't stay here without, please I'm begging you."

Dom could only roll his as Mia clung to Letty begging her. Codependency was an annoying bitch and he couldn't stand it much longer.

"Fine, for you. I'll go get our stuff at the apartment okay?"

Mia nodded hugging Letty once more before releasing her. Letty waved to Dom so he'd unlock the door but he followed right out.

"You're not coming back are you?" He asked on the sidewalk. "You lied to her."

She didn't know how he knew that but it ticked her off because she already felt guilty about it.

"Dude she's your sister. You seem to think you know what's best for her and I don't want to get in the way of her family trying to help her so by all means you do it but I have things to do."

"I can't believe I'm saying but I need you Letty. Please stay."  
Letty froze and turned to look him in the eye. They were sincere if nothing, she couldn't stand the best bone in his body but it was obvious he only wanted what was best for Mia and that was something she couldn't get in the way of. Something Mia said about gravity popped into her head as she stared at him.

"For Mia right, yes, I'll stay."


	3. Chapter 3

**Reckless**

**Chapter three**

The tension could have stifled them both as Dom drove her to their apartment to get some of their things. She couldn't wait to get out of the car and away from him, the second he pulled over she was already out of the car.

Letty stooped down and shifted the welcome mat where she hid spare keys.

"You keep keys under a mat."

"Sure, why not, just another thing for you to judge about me."  
Neither of them were trying to hide the revulsion they felt for the other. Secretly they both admired it about the other.

Once inside she took off her dress not bothering to check if he was looking and walked into her bedroom with her arms extended above her head and her face covered with the dress that she tore off. She closed the door with her foot and inspected herself in front the mirror. She looked like hell and she knew it. Staring down at her body she caught sight of something that wasn't supposed to be there. On her inner thigh was a reddened blotch. Asher would always pinch her inner thighs when they were together but she couldn't remember sleeping with him or anyone last night. Her head hurt instantly with a brief flashback of the previous night and it nauseated her what she remembered about Asher. She pulled on a sweatshirt slung across her bed and went out to see Dom leaning over the kitchen counter with his chin cradled in his palm obviously bored.

"You found me last night. Where was I?"  
She already suspected where she was but she needed him to confirm it.

"More like who you were with some guy with his hand up your skirt. I stopped it before he got anywhere."  
She nodded calmly or at least she seemed calm to him.

"Thank you for saving me then."  
She disappeared into the bathroom and he didn't hear her until she turned on the shower.

Left alone Dom looked around the two bedroom apartment. What he didn't understand was how two unemployed party goers paid for the nice loft. Nothing in it looked cheap, it even looked like a home with pictures of Mia and Letty everywhere he looked.

She emerged half an hour later changed into a grey mini skirt and long sleeve t-shirt pulling two suitcases behind her.

"Can we go?" He asked taking the suitcase from.

"Yeah, just one-stop." She took up a baseball bat from a coat closet and trailed behind him.

"Ugh, no, you have your things time to go."

"Either you drive me where I want to go or I call a cab and you never see me again."

"Fine, what's the bat for?"

"You don't want to know."  
She told him locking the door behind them.

The ride is silent and unbearably awkward so he had time to notice how active she was on her phone. He hoped she wasn't talking to the guy he had to save her from. He already thought the worse of her and stupid would have been a shame to add to the list.

"Pull over right here." She told him as they neared an apartment building.

"Stay here." She said getting out. He shrugged as if he didn't care but he was definitely curious as to what she was up to. Spinning the bat in her hands he watched her get buzzed in and disappear into the building.  
She was gone at least five minutes and Dom grew impatient, it was short lived when he realized what she was up. It looked like the tenth floor to him, out of the window a flat screen TV came barreling down. On it's impact he couldn't help but jump. He watched as the other occupants of the apartment building stuck their heads out their windows looking up and down.

He waited anxiously for her to come out so he could begin an interrogation. She stormed out of the doors minutes later. She was still a good distance from the car but he could see the steaming anger emanating off her.

He was about to open the door for her when the guy from the club stormed after her and yanked her back. He was just as angry as she was, maybe more so he assumed it was his TV that was smashed to pieces. That made him smile to himself. Impressed with her just for a minute.

He reached out to grab Letty and he saw what the bat was for. She swung it right into his abdomen and he fell to the ground gasping for air and clutching his midsection, that was when she delivered a kick to his side and stumped on his crotch when he turned over in pain. Dom couldn't believe the balls on Letty, there was no hesitation in her moves.

He decided to get out of the car when she repeatedly pummeled his side with the bat. She would have killed him if he let her. Grabbing her from around the waist he pulled her off him arms still flailing and bat still swinging.

"He got the message, calm down."  
He set her on the ground a few feet from Asher and she seemed to do a three sixty, she straightened out her t-shirt and took a deep breath.

"I am calm."

"Sure you are, can we go now?"

"I want breakfast, let's go."

"Would you stop with the games."

"Mia was right, no game Dominic, I haven't eaten since yesterday and I want some breakfast that's all. Drive me to the diner or I can take a cab and then maybe pass by your house-if I feel like it."

"Get in, I'll drive you." He said in a defeated tone.

"I thought so."

* * *

Letty picked a table in the middle of the diner and took the seat facing the door. Dom reluctantly sat facing her. It wasn't five minutes of awkward silence before they gave their orders to the elderly waitress.

"Where's your partner in crime honey?"

"She's around Miriam. Can you get me her usual to go please."

"Anything for my favorite customers."

Dom watched the encounter silently but still amused.

"We come here a lot. Well whenever we're up before twelve."  
Dom frowned but held his tongue.

"What? It was a joke, you really need to lighten up buddy."

"I don't need advice from you, of all people."

"Why not? Is it because I don't have a stick up my ass?"

She could tell that he was holding by a thread and it made her want to push him over the edge just for the hell of it. She could definitely see why he and Mia didn't get along. Whatever beef they had she was on Mia's side just by being her best friend and didn't need any other incentive to dislike Dom.

"You don't need to be so angry all the time...just saying."

"Cause junkies give great advice."

"Junkie? You really think you know me don't you, if you only..."

"If I only knew what?"

She shook her head, "nothing."

"I thought so."  
She really didn't like this guy.  
Miriam brought them their food and both seemed thankful for the distraction. They ate in silence or more like Letty ate while Dom glared at her.

"Finished now princess?"

"That's enough, I don't know why the people around you take your bullshit. But I'm not them. You might want to try showing some respect for the only person who can help Mia."

"Or what? You'll hit me with a baseball?"  
They broke down laughing a semblance of normalcy but just for a few moments before something distracted Letty.

Dom followed her gaze and looked behind him to see a blonde cop coming into the diner. His eyes fell on Letty immediately and waved at her, Dom rolled his eyes and looked back to Letty who gave him a small smile. Of course she was familiar with cops.

"Uh-why don't you go get the car so we can get out of here." Letty handed him the box with Mia's breakfast.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Coming, I just have to use the bathroom." She watched him walk out then hurried to the counter where Brian was.

"I tried like crazy trying to call you last night. Thought something had happened to you." He whispered.

"I'm fine, but we have a big problem. I can't talk now, go to my apartment get my car keys off the counter and go get my car. I'll try to call you when I can. Turns out it wasn't a quiet night after all."

"Letty be careful. Just message me daily so I know you're okay."

"I will. Don't forget my car in the club's parking lot."  
She left the diner crossing the street where Dom was already in the car.

"Why am I not surprised you're friends with cops?"

"We're not friends."

"Looked pretty friendly to me."

"It was nothing."

"I'm already used to your secrets."  
Letty took that at heart. It was a problem Mia had with her too. But secrets were necessary.

"Let's just go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Reckless**

**Chapter three**

When Letty and Dom got back to the house Mia was passed out on the couch and snored all the way up as Dom carried her up to her room. Letty followed behind with their bags. Everytime she saw Mia it validated her decision.

Dom tucked Mia in like a child and Letty watched from doorway, she felt for him for the very first time since she met him. He was just a big brother worried about his little sister.

"There's a guest room, I don't know what you want to do, you could sleep in here if you like."

"Uh I like my own space so maybe I'll stay in there but it doesn't matter. We're hardly ever apart anyway."

He nodded again his eyes falling on Mia sleeping.

"You don't have to worry. I was being a bitch earlier, I'll be here as long as she needs me to."

He looked at her with something she couldn't read in his eyes but it was gone just as fast as it appeared.

"Okay, the guest room is down the hall, if you need anything I'll be downstairs."  
Letty left Mia's room after Dom did, switched off the light and closed the door. Mia would probably wake around six in the evening and they would have to figure things out. Dom or Mia had no idea what was coming.

She retired to the guest room and questioned if she was cut out for multitasking. It would make things complicated. More than they already were but she loved Mia like a sister and if being under house arrest with her would help she didn't have much of a choice. All she had to do was find a way out so she could go and come as she pleased.

She put her phone to charge, stowed her bag in the wardrobe without unpacking then quietly left the room. There were five doors on the second floor, Mia's room, and her guest room on the right and three doors on the left. She opened the first door on the left side opposite her room, it was a bathroom. Moving down a few feet she opened the second door and peeked in. It looked like a bedroom but all the furniture was covered with sheets and she could tell it hadn't been occupied in years. The third door was slightly ajar and once she saw him she couldn't look away. He had just taken off his shirt and frustratedly threw it across the his room. She watched on in a hypnotic trance as his back muscles clenched and settled down and sunk down to his bed, his back facing Letty. His skin was tanned and Letty had to grip the wall to keep from going in and touching him. Though his back was facing her she could tell his mood somber and he was emotionally tired. His head sunk to his hands and covered his entire face as he released a long sigh.  
Letty suddenly felt guilty about watching him look so vulnerable and retired to her room again. Lying down on the made bed she closed her eyes for just a few moments, she didn't expect to fall asleep.

* * *

Dom heard movement in Mia's room a little past six and knocked on her door before entering. He almost choked up when he saw her sitting on the top bunk of her double decker with a laptop on her lap, like nothing had changed and she'd never left. He missed her more than he let on, more than he thought he did until she was back in her old room. Almost like nothing had happened.

"You got your stuff?"

"Where's Letty?"

"We brought you back some breakfast but you slept through the day."

"Where's Letty?"

Accepting defeat before another of their epic arguments began he took a deep breath before continuing.

"I'll go get her."

The guest room door was open, and the light was on so he didn't think she'd have been sleeping. She was curled in a fetal position sound asleep. Dom didn't know why she looked so innocent in her sleep knowing what she was like when she was awake. His eyes lingered on her sleeping form once more before he knocked on her inner door and she shot awake.

"Mia is asking for you, she's in her room."  
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she slowly got up and nodded as Dom left her room.

Even through the walls Dom heard mostly everything that went on in Mia's room. He heard music not long after that and a lot of giggling. Of course Letty didn't know what she was doing but Dom still felt like she was twisting the knife in his back. Showing him how much closer she was to his sister, but he could only blame himself for it. He only hoped he could fix it.

* * *

Mia and Letty hung upside down on the top bunk of her bed listening to music wishing they were at a club and it was the real thing.

"How are you...really?"

"Fine, stop asking me."

"You haven't eaten anything."

"I'm not hungry."

"Not hungry...it's called nausea Mia. That churning in your stomach that churns if you even think about eating...it's gonna get a whole lot worse. That cold sweat running down your neck it's gonna keep coming until you satisfy that other hunger. It's called withdrawal and it's hell."

"You know this how." Mia sat up waiting for an explanation.

"I tried to get clean twice before, it didn't take but I'm not gonna let that happen to you."

"You never told me that."

"What's there to tell."  
Letty shrugged nonchalantly sitting up after her.

"It's not like you're getting outta here either, we can do it together."

"Baby girl I think I'm too messed up to be fixed."

"Yeah yeah go brood in your room think I'm going back to sleep."

"Come and get me if you need anything."

"I'll be fine."

She wished Mia would take it seriously, it was only the beginning and when it truly sunk in that she couldn't just get high when the urge became too strong, hell was really going to break loose.

When Letty got back to her room her phone was vibrating. She quickly punched in her password and answered sitting down on the floor next to the power outlet.

"I got your car, it's at the safehouse can you meet me there tonight?"

"I don't know Brian. That guy I was with earlier is Mia's brother he's locked her in the house and I'm staying to keep an eye on her."

"I thought you were-"

"That doesn't matter now does it. Things are just going to be tighter. I don't know when I'll be able to get away."

"I need you out there Letty."

"I know, I know. I'll try my best but how much could I possibly do."

"Do you have anything for me?"

"I think so I-"

Dom poked his head into her room and she made a mental note to start locking it behind her.

"Ordering a pizza, have any preferences?"

"I'll have anything you're having."  
He stared at her and the phone in her hands for a moment longer then left her room. She was waiting for his nice guy routine to expire.

"You keeping an eye on Mia or having a date night with her brother?"

"You have no idea how badly off you are, what do you know about a Jonny P?"

"Jonny P the drug king pin?"

"Kingpin?"

"You heard me anything involving drugs and criminal activity in East L.A, he's all over it, only we've never been able to catch him. What'd you find out?"

"He wants me to run for him, what do you think?"

"I think this could be biggest guy we've ever take down."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, how'd you get connected?"

"Please don't ask."

"Asher?"

"Yes and that bridge has been burnt. Whatever information he can give us we'll have to do without."

"What'd you do?"

"The less you know the better but if he does file an assault charge we're going to need your bureaucratic friends."

"Letty..."

"Come on Brian. Cut me some slack I am your only link to catching one of this city's biggest drug lords."

"That's why you're my favorite CI."

"That's why I'm your only CI. I'll try and get away Thursday night, meet me at the safehouse. I don't know anything about him so maybe you can fill me in on how you want me to play it."

"Enjoy your date night."

"And you enjoy your leftovers...alone."

She hung up chuckling and made it downstairs just as Dom was paying the pizza boy. His eyes were on Letty and not on the tip Dom was putting in his hand the moment Letty made it down the stairs. Dom looked back to see what had caught the pizza boy's eyes and frowned slightly.

"Keep the change." Dom basically pushed him out of the house.

"What'd you get?"

"Pepperoni, extra cheese."

"Not bad."  
She boldly took the box out of his hand. "Mia?"

"She told me to get fuck out of her room so I assumed that meant she didn't want any pizza."

"Yeah she's not gonna feel like eating anything until the nausea gets everything out of her system. She'll come around eventually, soon she'll want to eat everything in sight."

"If you say so, you're the Mia whisperer."

"Don't do that," she sighed.

"Do what?"

"Resent me for no reason."

He didn't bother keeping his voice down.  
"No reason, you've influenced my sister to the point where I have to lock her up for her to get better. You're even worse than she is and the only reason I can stand the sight of you is because you're the only reason Mia isn't trying to smash into my head with a vase."

"Wow, tell me how you really feel."

"What a shock another joke."

"No joke. We all have our opinions. I have mine to. Mia tells me everything, I bet you're enjoying putting the blame on me but we both know who's fault it really is. She blames you for Jesse death. It's the only reason she started to do coke. You should start judging yourself for a change and see what turns up. " She put the pizza back down void of any appetite after his words cut into her and hers probably did the same to him.

"Thanks for dinner."  
She left him downstairs without another word, not like there was anything left to say.

* * *

It was three in the morning and Dom was a fairly heavy sleeper but no one could have slept through the retching and gagging sounds coming from the bathroom down the hall.

He expected to see Mia puking her guts out into the toilet but what he didn't expect to see was Letty crouched next to her holding her hair back and rubbing her back. Mia was preoccupied and didn't notice Dom at the door but Letty did. Their sleepy eyes met and she silently mouthed_ I GOT HER_.

He didn't understand that woman for one second, it was chaos between them but when it came down to what really mattered she showed he could rely on her. He felt almost at ease fir the first time since she had moved in. He felt like Letty was on his side somehow. He nodded and went back to bed a little more comfortable than before.


	5. Chapter 5

**Reckless**

**Chapter five**

Letty didn't get much sleep, not only was Mia's constant trips to the bathroom a disturbance but the strange place didn't feel like home to her yet. She could will herself to fall asleep comfortably.

After heaving out everything that was in her stomach Mia crashed three in the morning giving Letty three hours of fitful sleep before she woke again from a knock on the door.

She pulled on a grey sweatshirt from the floor having slept in her underwear to answer the door.  
Dom was at the other side of the door with another man behind him.

"This is Leon, he'll be here for a while, I have to run out. He'll keep any eye on Mia."

"That wasn't worth a wake up call. Isn't that what I'm here for?"

"Maybe if I trusted you I'd leave you alone with my baby sister."

Same old song, Letty rolled her eyes and was gonna close the door in their faces but Dom blocked it with his foot.

"What?"

"Is she awake?"

"I don't know is she?"

"She won't answer me."

"Fine," she groaned and pushed them back as she opened her door wider. Mia's door was locked from the inside and Letty couldn't tell if she was awake or not. She rapped on her door and heard movement.

"It's Letty."

"What's up?"

"Dom's here with a friend."

"Tell him to go screw himself."  
Letty turned to a scowling Dom and a grinning Leon.

"Funny that she said that, it's what I want to say every time I see you."

"Whatever." Dom scoffed leaving the hallway as Letty folded her arms.

"Nice meeting you Letty."  
Letty thought he meant it sarcastically so she wordlessly waved him off and closed the door in his face.

* * *

Letty resurfaced around ten a.m. Downstairs Leon was playing video games and nursing a beer.

"Don't cha think it's too early for beer?"

He paused his game and picked up the Corona shaking his head.

"No such thing." He took another sip.

"I was a bit of a grouch up there. I promise I'm a lot nicer when I get some sleep."

"Don't worry about it. Dom can rub some people the bad way. I find you two quite amusing."

"Don't get me started." She could rant about his attitude all day but dogging him to a friend was a bit much, even Dom didn't deserve that.  
She explored the kitchen while Leon went back to his game.

"Doesn't he have any food?" Letty opened the fridge finding beer and a half empty jar of mayonnaise. She proceeded to open the cabinets shaking her head at it's contents or lack thereof.

"You could call him, tell him to pick up something on his way home."

"Where does he work anyway?"

"We work in a garage, he manages it. He's taking the paperwork home to stay with Mia."

"That's actually kinda sweet."

"You sound surprised."

"Well sweet isn't really word I use to describe Dom. Neurotic maybe but not sweet."

"Give him some time, he'll warm up to you eventually."

"I don't need him to do anything...except maybe get us some food."

Dom's car was heard outside before she finished her sentence. Grabbing her bag she'd left on the chair yesterday she went over to the door and pushed Dom back outside when he swung the door open.

"Where are we going?"

"To get some actual food."

"Damn it, I forgot about that."

"I noticed, let's go. Wait-"

"No detours this time."

"That's not what I was going to say. Can I drive?"

"Absolutely not." He was sure of his answer until she batted those eyelashes and bit her bottom lip.

"Please."  
It had to be guilt from last night that made him hand his keys over to her but in the back of his mind he had a feeling it was something much more dangerous.

Grinning like an idiot as they swapped sides she buckled in before setting her hand on the steering wheel.

"I already miss driving my own car. How long till the closest grocery store?"

"Ten minutes."

"I can get us there in five." She smiled mischievously as she stomped on the gas.

* * *

"That was..."

He couldn't help but smile at her as the car came to a halt.  
Her hands still clutching the wheel tightly as her breathing returned to normal.

"Trust me, I know." He put his hand out for keys and she gave it back to him pouting.

He followed her through the automatic doors and she put a basket in his hands and rolled a trolley out for herself.

Dom was not going to admit how attracted he was to Letty aloud but he definitely was. And she didn't make it easier swaying her hips in tight jeans as she walked down the aisles in the grocery store.

It wasn't just physical, just something about her he was drawn to. Though he knew he would never actually do anything about it, he couldn't but smile to himself as she rode the trolley like a toddler.

"Having fun there."

He held the trolley back from rolling again trapping her against his body in the process.

"I was." She pouted and got down from the trolley. Dom moved his arms as she fell into step beside him.

Dom didn't know where they were going to store the amount of groceries she bought. He didn't think that she and Mia could have possibly eaten all that on a normal basis. At one point he thought she was just randomly picking things up and stowing it in the trolley.

He thought he would get in on the fun and put two six packs of Corona in the trolley but she took it back out.

"You're kidding?"

"I think we'll confuse her if we preach one thing and do another. Beer will remind her of clubs and bars and clubs and bars will remind her getting high and we don't need that. We should try and keep alcohol out of the house." She put in two bottles of apple juice instead.

"Mia loves apple juice."

"I know."

"Right...you live with her."

At the cashier Letty plucked out a credit card to pay.

"You don't have to."

Rolling her eyes she handed the cashier the credit card before Dom could have intervened.

"You're one of the those guys who feel emasculated when the woman pays?"

He ignored her question shaking his head. "Where is all this damn money coming from?"

"That's my business Dom, I really don't have to tell you anything about it."

"Of course it's a secret. Wouldn't expect anything else from you."

* * *

Whatever decency they had left they poured into the quiet ride home, well mostly silent until Brian called Letty.

"Are you alone?"

"Sorta?"

"You're sorta alone?"

"It's fine you can talk but make it quick. What'd you find out?"

She was pretty sure her phone conversations didn't interest Dom.

"Johnny P's right hand man just got arrested in Canada. He's looking for someone new so I guess that's why he put the word out. If we can get him to trust you, you'll be in. We need to take down his entire organization, who manufactures for him and who his other distributors are."

"You think I have a chance? Why wouldn't he use somebody else who he already knows."

"He will, just get me a name and we'll have them arrested for a ticket or something. Just long enough to get you closer. Trust me you're perfect, only there's a risk."

"Isn't there always?"

"We can't wire you. Word is he has all his meetings at the beach. No clothes to hide the wire under. He's a smart one. I'm not comfortable sending you in alone."

"You worry too much, it's been four years. I can handle it. And you'll be there so what's the problem?"

"I have to go but this conversation isn't over."

"I think it is."

She hung but not without getting a grave feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wouldn't let Brian know, she told him what he needed to hear so he'd keep her out in the action but she had never done something this big before. Not like she did it for fun, she didn't have a choice but to push and do it anyway.

* * *

Dom and Letty unpacked the groceries and neither could say they didn't like being civil toward each other. It was refreshing that they weren't snipping at each other every chance they got. Leon had picked up on it and leaned over on the couch to get a better view.

"Something is different here." He pointed to the two narrowing his eyes.

Dom and Letty looked at each other and shrugged.

Mia's soft padding distracted Leon and he ran over to greet her.

"Leon." She leapt into his arms and he gave her a bear hug.

"What are you doing here?"

"Come on kid, you haven't forgotten that it's my second home. You haven't been gone that long."

"Guess not. You look good Le."

"I know." He joked.

Letty tossed a box of ginger and lemon tea. "It should help with nausea, get you your appetite back."

"Aren't you gonna make it for me?"

"I'm not your damn live in maid. Do it yourself."

Dom shook his head at the sibling like banter they had. He remembered when it was him and Mia.

They cleared out of the kitchen and Letty went back upstairs for her laptop.

* * *

Leon and Dom were outside in the garage where Dom was planning to do his work.

"So Letty, she's cool. I was expecting cruela or something. The way you talked about her she's-"

"I may have exaggerated a little bit and I'll be the first to admit that she's not what I thought she was. Not completely anyway."

"Just saying. Cool girls like that don't just move in to my house but if they did I would not have been single."

"You better not be implying what I think you are."

"You obviously have dibs."

"Dibs? No, not at all. Letty may not be the monster I thought she was but she's older than Mia and enabled her to continue doing drugs and that doesn't sit right with me. The worst part is that she seems to know better."

"So if you're not interested you wouldn't if I took a chance with her then. Ask her out or something."

"Hell yeah I would. Don't go there."

"Well which is it. If you don't want her then why can't I take a shot?"

"Because I said so."

* * *

"Leon seems nice." Letty said as she squeezed Mia's old cheer leading skirt up her thighs for her amusement. Mia was hanging upside down on her top bunk watching idly.

"I was so tiny in high school, there is no way you can fit that skirt over your-"  
She stopped as Letty got the skirt over her thighs and hips.

"Ha." Letty stuck her tongue parading in front of the mirror in the painfully tight and short pleated skirt that was probably disrupting the flow of her blood.

"Can't believe you were that girl."

"What girl?"

"The cali cheerleader with the hot brother."

"You think my brother is hot. He's a dick."

"I didn't say he wasn't a dick, I just said he was hot."

"Barf in my mouth. Letty promise me you won't screw my brother."

"That's not going to happen," she laughed at how crazy it sounded "trust me. The guy hates my guts."

Tumbling down from the top bunk she shook Letty by the shoulders.

"Promise me, you won't. Everybody leaves me the minute they meet Dom."

"Nothing is going to happen, I promise."  
Satisfied Mia smiled in relief and took her towel off the back of the door. She did feel better knowing that they really didn't get along anyway.

"Now if you excuse I smell like throw up."

When Mia left Letty tried to take the skirt off. It didn't even move when she tried to pull it off from over her head.

"Crap,"  
Looking in the mirror she could see it cutting into her skin marking red lines on her skin.

She ran downstairs where Dom was holding a bottle of juice. He watched her with an amused smirk and she rolled her eyes.

"Scissors?"

He pointed to the top draw in the kitchen. She dug into it, took the scissors and left.

In her room Letty turned on the light and stood in front of the mirror pondering how she was going to cut herself out of the skirt without taking some of her skin with it.

"You need some help." She jumped almost snipping at her skin when Dom appeared in her room.

"God what do you want me to take off piece of my skin."

"How'd you get into this in the first place?"

She chuckled not being able to do anything else.

"I know it was a dumb idea, I was bored."

She gave him the scissors and with one tug she was a close enough to feel the heat his body radiated. If only she wasn't dangerously attracted to alpha males his strength wouldn't have affected her that much, but she was and it did.

"Don't move."  
That wasn't going to be a problem. She loved the firm hold he had on her and if not for her conversation with Mia five minutes ago she would have dealt with it her way and simply take what she wanted and she wanted him.

While she tried not to stare at his biceps he had already began cutting. She was able to breathe easy when he cut it off her but she failed to realize she would be left in a sports and very small lace panties. What made the encounter sexier was that Dom didn't shy away when she caught him staring at her body. He let it be known he was definitely checking her out and the space between them engulfed in flames.

He would have been just her type if he wasn't Mia's big brother...and hated her. But before anything could not happen the shower was turned off. Dom handed Letty the ripped skirt and scissors and quickly left her room before Mia came out of the shower.

"What's up with you? You're all flustered." Mia stood where her brother had only seconds ago.

"That's because I had to cut the skirt off. I think I'm almost took some skin off."

"That's it?"

"Mhm, go get changed and I'll make something for us to eat."

"Okay weirdo."

* * *

Mia ate up in her room, which didn't surprise Letty. Mia was the only one who knew how to avoid someone she was living under the same roof with. She didn't know how to fix their relationship, it was something Dom and Mia had to do on their own.

Dom was watching TV when she came downstairs with Mia's plate in her hand.

"You seem to know more about this. Will she be okay?"

Mia had begun pacing upstairs in her room and they all could hear it shaking the ceiling above Dom.

"I don't know. It's different for everybody. She could be the Mia we know and love one day, agitated the next and depressed the next. Until she learns to live without it. It's only been days, you can't already be frustrated. She hasn't gone through anything yet. When she feels like ripping her hair out then you can get frustrated because it's then she'll really be on the edge."

"What can I do?"  
Letty shrugged, "be there for her but give her her space I guess."

"Easy for you to say. She doesn't hate you."

"You're her brother, she's just angry. She doesn't hate you. Trust me on that."

"You say that like she hasn't told me to shut the fuck up every time I talk to her. She's happy to see everyone again but me and she worships the ground you walk on."

"She doesn't hate you Dom. I don't think you should give up. You're her big brother, that has to count for something. Blood is thicker right? Besides, you're not doing this alone. You have your friends Vince and Leon...and me, I'm not going anywhere. You can count on me do whatever is in her best interest."

Letty wasn't sure if he believed her or not. He silently got up and went to the kitchen. She smiled when she saw what he was doing. She joined him and they opened and emptied the beer he had left in the fridge and poured it down the sink. It wasn't just for Mia and they both knew it. That was Dom showing her that he definitely could trust her and that was Letty wanting to feel his body anyway she can, both knew it was trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

**Reckless**

**Chapter six**

Dom's legs were propped up on the small work table he had put in the corner of the garage for paperwork. His thoughts had drifted from the payment records to Letty. The previous night they had watched a movie. He couldn't remember what movie or what it was about but he could remember the heady scent of her body wash. Or the way her hair fell perfectly on her shoulders and the way she tucked her legs in and snuggled into the couch. It was quiet, neither spoke much but it was one of the most comfortable nights he had ever had.

So she was complicated and he couldn't have her, it didn't stop him from thinking about her.

He was so focused on trying to focus on his workload he didn't notice when Letty came in. When he did notice her he didn't exactly hide the fact that he was happy to see her. He hadn't seen her all morning and that was enough for him to miss her even a little bit. She returned his small smile.

"I need to go out for a bit."

"Where?" He asked casually.

"Come on, I'm the secretive one right. Maybe I should get the keys copied. If you're not here I may need to come and go."

"I'm staying in tonight. You can take the keys." He tossed her the keys almost timid to pick another fight with her, being on her good side was far more fun. "Where's Mia?" While him and Letty were getting along better, him and Mia hadn't been able to find any common ground. Whenever she did talk to him every other word was obscene.

"Locked up in her room. I wouldn't bother her today. She's a bit depressed. She'll come to you when she's ready."

He nodded solemnly and Letty wanted to make him feel better she just wasn't sure how to do it. She couldn't snap her fingers and get Mia clean or fix their relationship. She didn't know him well enough so she was at a loss. "The thing that I have to do today...I have to do it. If I didn't, I'd much rather stay here with you."

She patted his arm on her way out making his day without realizing it.

* * *

Letty was relieved to see her car parked out front.

"There she is." Brian met her outside the safe house like he always did. "My favourite confidential informant." He hugged and squeezed her and only let her go when she probed. "Okay, you missed me." She straightened the tank top his hug had scrunched up.

"You know I did. Do you have anything for me?"

"Easy, at least get me inside first."

The bureau paid for the safe house, it was only there if Letty's endeavours had gotten dangerous and her apartment was no longer safe. But Letty and Brian had been abusing and it was more of their home away from home. He was supposed to be the only one who knew the location but Letty had given it to Mia telling her it was her childhood home and if she was ever MIA for too long to go there.

Once he closed the door behind her she pulled out the mint capsule of Ecstasy pills Asher had given her and sat on the couch knowing it's comfort too well.

"Is this all of it?"

"Come on Brian."

"You know I have to ask."

"That's all."  
He nodded knowing after all that time she wouldn't relapse, it wasn't impossible just unlikely and he trusted Letty anyway.

"Are you watering my tomato plant in the kitchen?"

"You didn't tell me too?"

"It was implied that's what house sitters do."

He put the Ecstasy in an evidence bag and pulled a chair at the dining table.

"So Asher got them from Johnny P."

"That's what he said. You know Travis was there in Venom, I thought you took care of him?"

"Can't yet, we have everything we need. It's just a waiting game now, I have to follow orders."

"They take so long, he almost gave something to Mia. If I couldn't get it to you in time then diluting her other baggies would have been for nothing."

"So her recovery hasn't been easier, she hasn't had any real coke for months now."

"I haven't told her about switching out her drugs. She can't handle it yet and no it hasn't help. As far as her body knows she's been getting high so it's reacting normally."

Mia was being weaned off the cocaine and didn't even know it but Dom's impromptu rehab had destroyed all her progress and thrown her and Mia through a loop.

"Letty you're in a sticky situation."

"I know but if Mia finds out she'll never trust me again and I don't want to end up in the same boat her brother is in."

"But if she finds out some other way that you-"

"Brian we have other things to worry about."

"You're right, are you ready for this?"

"Let's get it over with."  
She joined him at the dining table and called the number Asher had given her. She put the phone on speaker after he had answered.

"Who's this?"

"Letty."

"Why do I know that name?"

"I'm sure Asher has been going on about me."

"Right, you're Asher's girl, he said I should check you out."

"I bet he did."

"Ha, not like that. Can we meet? Where are right now?"

"Where I am is not important. Where do you wanna meet?"

"The beach, I'm having a bon fire this evening with some friends. I'll see you there Letty. If you're even half of what Asher says you are, we'll get along just fine."

"Whatever." She hung up and Brian looked just as impressed as he always was.

"_Whatever_?"

"Can't sound too eager. You were right about the beach thing, I'm actually surprised a meet was that easy. If he's as good as you say why is he so trusting?"

"He obviously trust Asher, which works in our favour because the guy worships you. He must have played you up real good. You wanna tell me why you beat him with a baseball bat?"

"He was being a creep. I dealt with it the way I saw fit. Problem?"  
He shook his head. "What now?"

"I'm gonna go change for the bon fire, you sit tight. And before I forget, make me a copy of this." She handed him the keys and gave him the don't ask look.

"So how's Mia doing?" He asks through the door of the bedroom on the ground floor.

"It's been a few weeks, and she's doing better than I did. Everybody needs to give the girl some time."

"You'll keep me updated."

"Of course. When she gets clean maybe you'll finally have a chance."

"I don't have a chance now?"

"Not unless your middle name is cocaine."

She came out in black bikini and denim shorts and a bag of dry clothes to change into.

"I'll be behind you. Be careful. Don't push anything, let him come to you."

"I know I've done this before remember."

"Yes but I would feel if-"

"Brian, I'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring hug before they left the house.

* * *

After Dom made himself a sandwich for lunch Vince dropped by with a new stack of paper work. Dom groaned when he dropped it down on the table.

"You're kidding."

"Sorry brother but you're the one who wanted to work from home. Where are your house guest?"

"Mia's been locked in her room all day and Letty stepped out."

"Ah, that's why you're in a crap mood. Your live in eyes candy isn't here."

"Who Letty?"

"Yes Letty." Vince said in a mocking tone. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing, we're trying to get along for Mia's sake."

"You're doing more than getting along. Movie nights?"

"That was one time...okay maybe three time deal but that's all it was and is ever going to be. I can't go there man. It's like knowing jumping off a cliff without a parachute. I know I'd regret in the long run and besides, my focus is on getting Mia better."

"And that's fine but just know that minute Mia gets better she packs up and leave so f you can deal with that I won't mention t again but if you're having the slightest regret that she will eventually have to leave then why not see exactly what it is you have."

Dom had not thought of her leaving only because Mia's erratic behaviour told him it'd be a while before any progress was made.

"I need to finish this V, I just don't want to get into all that right now. Besides, all of your nonsense only depends on Letty."

"What about her? I'm pretty sure she's feeling you too."

"It's not about that, she's just too secretive. It's like she's two different people sometimes."

* * *

The bon fire wasn't hard to miss. Before she walked toward the small group of people by the bon fire she looked over to where Brian was supposedly inconspicuously keeping an eye on her. She found it laughable, who didn't find a grown man at the beach by himself suspicious but he was relentless on coming.

If she didn't know any better she would have pegged the people at the bon fire for civilians and not junkies and drug dealers. But after a closer look they were definitely junkies and drug dealers. Only a hand full of people there weren't high everybody else was either lounged on the log benches sharing a joint or nursing some alcohol concoction in a red cup. She saw Asher in the corner of her eye, he took a hint and didn't make any initiative to greet her. It wouldn't have gone down well for his face if he had anyway.

Though they ran in the same circles she had never met Johnny P. She picked him out after two minutes. He was sitting on a lawn chair and the only how she picked him out was because of the people around him. She never really knew why drug dealers needed entourages.

"Well I definitely understand what all the fuss is about, you must be Letty." She stood in front of the chair he was sitting on with her hands on her waist looking generally uninterested.  
Letty nodded, "wish I could say the same but I haven't exactly heard anything about you."

"It didn't stop you from coming now did it. But I do find it strange you've never heard of me. Everybody seems to know who you are. Where's the partner in crime I hear you're never separated from?"

"She got herself into a little bit of trouble. Might not be around for some time."

"Sorry to hear that, if you want some company I'm here. Let's take a walk and talk business." One of the women on his lap helped him and they took off down the beach. Brian would loose eyes on her but that wasn't a pressing matter to her.

"I just had to find out for myself what it is about you that even after you beat his face in he's still thinks the world of you."

"He told you about that?" She had no idea he and Asher were that close. It had been working to her advantage so far.

"I thought it was a deal gone wrong but you're a dangerous chick, so yeah he told me."

"He tell you he deserve it too?"

He raised his hands shaking his head. "I don't wanna know. That's your business. I'm just his concerned boss."

"Speaking of, what do you want from me?"

"I could use a girl with your connections. You seem to know all the right people, go to all the right clubs and parties. The job is yours if you want it."

"I'll have to think about it."

"You got ten seconds, I got a million other people who want this job."

"Then go asks them." She took off knowing full well he wouldn't let her go.  
He held her back and she bit her lip to keep a devious smirk off her face.  
"Fine, you're not a fool Letty. I underestimated you. In my defence Asher gets with a lot of stupid girls."

Letty scoffed, even his name irritated her. "I remember."

"Ooo, lot more history between the two you right?"

"I thought you didn't want to know."

"Okay, okay. I definitely need you Letty. C'mon, Asher told me about your preferred taste I can get you a lot more. I know the supplier."

"You know the supplier?"

Letty knew exactly who he was, she had never met him but he was responsible for almost all the X that ran through East L.A and the other reason she was helping Brian was because she needed to get to him. She had unfinished business with him.

"Ahhh, so that's the ticket. X? Asher sure does know his lady."

"I don't what Asher did or didn't tell you but it's been over for quite some time. And if you have any expectations I'll set the record straight right now. Nothing is going to happen between us, I didn't get to where I am by fucking everything with a penis and a handful of pills that came on to me."

"I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, well Asher had me but that didn't stop him when we were together either."

"So he cheated on you constantly? That's how you two went sour?"

"For a guy who says he doesn't want to know you want to know a lot. Why don't we stick to the task at hand."

"Fine, I'll give you test run and we'll see how you'll do. And I won't propose that we have sex any-more-but not because I think I don't have a shot but out of respect for Asher, he's still into you-a lot."

"I didn't agree to anything yet."  
He grinned, "I'm presumptuous like that."

Her playing hard to get was done, if she pushed to hard she'd lose the deal.

"I'm in."

"I thought so. Stay and kick back a while. I like to keep my employees close. And Letty just know, I don't like being screwed over." He opened his hoodie and showed her the gun he had tucked into his pants.

"Does that scare you?"

She tried so hard no to laugh at his watered down threat.

"It would be scary if the safety wasn't on." She unlocked it and smirked at him, he had cocked gun pointed at his man hood. If he sneezed there was a chance he could blow it off.

"We're going to get along just fine." He took the gun out of his pants and put the safety back on.

* * *

By eight O'clock Dom's curiosity had graduated to obsession about Letty's whereabouts. Sure she was a grown woman and didn't have curfew but he had expected her back earlier. He thought about calling her but that would only go as well as expected, she didn't need him checking up on her and he had no reason to. She wasn't his responsibility. Mia still hadn't surface and he took Letty advice and let her be, mostly because he didn't want another vase to his head.

He spent another three hours in the recliner watching football before he gave up and retired upstairs.

* * *

When the fire had dwindled Letty had hoped she would be able to bail but she knew from experience in that lifestyle the night wouldn't be over until the sun rose. Johnny invited her to a club they were all going to. A few things passed through her head and kept her from saying yes without hesitating but the most pressing was her new living arrangement and her new room-mate. She figured she would shower before she went home so she didn't go home smelling like club, Mia would recognize the smell and she didn't want Dom seeing her like that ever again.

"I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"I can fix that." Johnny grinned and waved over a tall brunette.

"Kayla, you got something that could fit Letty here?"

"Course." She ran off to get her bag from Johnny's car.

"She always packs three or four outfits with her. Don't ask me why."

"Which club are we going?"

"Infinity."

"Are you serious? It's impossible to get in."

"I have my ways."

"You make it hard to say no."

"I sure do hope so."

She rolled her eyes at his euphemism.

"Like I said never going to happen."

* * *

Letty and Kayla were getting changed by her car. The dark and the opened doors of her car aided in some privacy for the women.

"So you and Johnny?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Three years."

"Wow. You know he hit on me tonight right?"

"You're a beautiful girl Letty. I'd hit on you if I swung that way." She smirked and turned around,"can you zip me up?"

Letty did as asked quietly. It was deja vu all over again, she couldn't believe how incredibly stupid she used to be because she was the same when she was with Asher. She thought the life they led excused him of such behaviour, she would always blame it on the drugs and not the scum that Asher was.

"So you're okay with it? If I was to tell you that I wanted him too?"

Letty saw some of her composure crack.

"But I don't. I know someone like Johnny and I loved him too but that only destroyed my life."

"He's different when it's just us."

"Different? You want to settle for that? Aren't you tired of that, men like him."  
Kayla kept quite, it wasn't Letty's intent to lecture her but she saw too much of herself in Kayla.  
"I know you love him but we can do so much better. We can get the good guys."

"The good guys don't like to party."

"Some of them do, they just seem like they don't. Besides, you can mess him up a bit if you want."  
She laughed enjoying the idea of corrupting someone.  
"So what do I do?"

"You leave his ass...only after he gets us into Infinity though."

When they finished getting dressed, Letty in a devilish red and Kayla in black they joined the others getting ready to leave. Letty wasn't sure when Asher made his way to her but he was there when she turned around. "Just hear me out Letty."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. I just saw you and everything came back to me I-"

"Stay away from me Asher."

"For what it's worth, I wouldn't have gone through with it."

He left just in time because she was about to start communicating with her fists. His apology at least showed her he was still human but Letty didn't think she could ever forgive him.

* * *

"Wohooo!" Letty downed another shot, she had lost track.

"Holy shit Letty, you sure can hold your liquor."  
Letty didn't really hear him over the blaring music but she nodded anyway. She had to be that girl that Johnny had heard so much about and by her fifth shot it wasn't an act any more.

"Let's dance,"

"I knew you would come around." Johnny said but Letty took Kayla's hand instead.

"Not you dumb ass."

Letty and Kayla dance their way onto the dance floor making sure they were still in Johnny's sight probably giving him a _big problem_ but Letty didn't care. They danced with each other making every man in the club wish he was between them. Letty could feel Asher's eyes follow hers, if he wanted to sleep with her that would only work to her advantage.

As she and Kayla lost themselves in the music and the alcohol she realized she wasn't pretending to enjoy it, she was enjoying it.

* * *

By twelve the fact that Letty was an adult was lost on Dom. It didn't matter how comfortable he got or how hard he tried to believe that she hadn't worked her way into his subconscious he couldn't fall asleep. He gave up at midnight and went downstairs in just pyjama bottoms to do sit ups hoping to ware himself out. He was intent on waiting up for her but if he tired before then it was just a plus.

Every time he heard movement he would perk up think it was Letty. It turned out to be Mia. He laughed at her pink pyjamas and she rolled her eyes. She didn't ask about Letty and was probably under the impression Letty was asleep upstairs.

"You still do sit ups when you can't sleep?" It took him a few moments to realize she was talking to him, and being civil. It wasn't a lot but it was something.

"You still think ice-cream is suitable midnight snack?" He pointed to pint of chunky monkey in her hand.

"Touché, want some?" She extended the spoon to him.

"No thanks, I'm trying to fall asleep."

"Too bad Letty isn't awake, she makes the best tea some kinda home made remedy, it would have put you right to sleep."

He knew what would lull him to sleep and it wasn't the tea.

"Goodnight."

"Night." That girl reminded him of the Mia he grew up with. He couldn't believe how normal the encounter was. Maybe Letty would leave sooner than he thought she would.

* * *

Letty stumbled into the safe house after three in the morning. Brian was up on the couch flipping through TV channels.

"There you are. I lost you, couldn't get into the club."  
She tossed the fanny pack of drugs Johnny P had given to her at the end of the night to him, kicked off her ill-fitting heels and fell into the couch and crashed.

* * *

Letty woke up as she fell off the couch having moved closer and closer to the edge during the wee hours of the morning. She fell with thud waking up completely dazed.

"Ouch, Brian why didn't you wake me?" She fretted on the floor.

"Was I supposed to?"

"Mia isn't suppose to know I'm not there. Hurry up, I need a ride."

"Yeah we'll talk on the way."

"Uhhh no, my brain can't process anything until I get some caffeine in me." She held the sides of her head as she tried to hurry out the door. She needed to be home before Mia woke up.

"Letty we need to sort through how to proceed with this." He spoke to her back as she reached the car first with zombie like grace.

"I'm the expert here, I got this just...ugh." She groaned again and dug into her glove compartment for her sunglasses. The shades only helped a little with her hangover, she was only able to dilute three of her drinks last night. Any more trips to the bathroom they would have thought she had a bladder problem.

"I thought you would be immune to hangovers by now."

"Not even close." She slouched into the passengers seat and kept her head down for the rest of the ride. When Brian pulled up to the house she looked down at her attire. It was exactly what she wanted to avoid. She asked Brian for the jacket her was wearing so the sleeves would hide the Infinity stamp on her wrist. Knowing the drill all to well she put on Brian's jacket, took off her heels and hiked up her dress just a little so she could get out of the car.

She sifted through the bunch of keys on the doorstep but the door swung open just a Brian drove off.

"Morning." He delivered his daily dose of judgement in just one word but this time she actually cared.

"Morning." She said as politely as she could when he moved aside to let her in.

"Mia?"

"Still asleep, doesn't know you left."

"Dom, I-" She didn't know what to say, didn't know anything she could conjure up to wipe that look off his face. She didn't bother and he walked off on her.

She scurried up to her room before she combusted from his lingering glare.  
After getting her bearings she threw Brian's jacket on her bed and stripped down to wash the club off of her. She looked forward to day of just staying in bed after the night she had. It was also a good place to hide from Dom. Two steps forward, three steps back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Reckless**

**Chapter seven**

Dom stewed in a mixture of emotions. He didn't know what to think or how to feel. His feelings for Letty confused him more than anything. Watching her now he'd never have guessed that she was the same girl who stumbled into the house after being out all night smelling like vodka and lime two days prior.

She was cooking dinner moving around the kitchen like she was born a housewife. He just didn't get it. It felt like he was the only one feeling that way, Leon and Vince had just about swooned over everything she said and did.

He just had to remember that she was there for Mia and not for him, whatever was happening between them was irrelevant. If he focused on Mia he had no reason to be upset because she was doing everything she needed to do for Mia.

She was straining pasta when Leon leaned against the counter next to her with a smirk.

"Yes?" She asked when his staring had boarded on creepy.

"Dom says you used to get high with Mia."

She didn't look up and continued working. "Dom says a lot of things."

"You know I got high once too."

"High?" Letty smirked, "on what might I ask?"

"Pot brownies."  
Letty went weak with laugh leaning on Leon for support.

"_Pot. Brownies_. That's child's play. You're adorable." She said gently slapping his cheek.  
She turned back to the counter while Leon scratched his head and went back to the table where Dom and Vince were.

"Isn't that something you say about puppies?"  
They laughed at his desperate attempts with Letty.

"Give it up." Vince told him. Dom nodded his agreement thinking in his head if anyone had a chance with Letty it was him.

* * *

Dinner started mostly quiet. It was just Letty, Vince, Dom and Leon until Mia came downstairs still in her pyjamas but no one commented about her disgruntle appearance. She looked like she would punch anyone in the face if they even breathed in her direction. The boys were happy to see her though.

"Heeeey..." They cheered in unison.

"Don't flatter yourselves, no one can stay away from Letty's cooking." Mia said while making a plate for herself. She sat at the empty chair between Dom and Letty, they had purposely put space between them.

"I just might have to agree with you on that. Letty I will marry you if you cook this for me every day for the rest of my life." Leon declared wagging his eyebrows enticingly.

"You'd marry her even if she spit in your face."  
Vince pointed out and Leon nodded after sometime making them all laugh.

"And you Vince?" Mia asked.

"What about me?"

"Who's the girl?"

"What do you mean? What girl?"  
Mia looked at Letty and they shared a knowing smile. Letty shook her head, men could be so clueless.

"You smell like woman's perfume." Letty said. "Unless you're a fan of Chanel."

"You're clothes are really neat." Mia added pointing at his pressed collar.

"And you have that stupid grin on your face when you came in. Only someone who's getting laid regularly wears those grin. I should know." Letty and Mia shared a laugh making Dom's insides churn when he thought about it. Letty could sleep with whoever she desired and it seemed she did. He should have expected that, a woman like that could have any man she desired.

"Busted." Leon said laughing.

"Huh, am I missing some history?" Letty pointed to Vince and Letty. "Really?" Their faces gave it away.

"It was one date." Vince said.

"It was three dates." Mia corrected.

"Dom was on two of them. Those don't count."

"Dude you did not chaperone dates with your sister and best friend." Letty said pinning Dom down with her gaze.

"Damn right I did."

"That's sad Dom. So what happened?"

"It was like dating my little sister." Vince said with a small smile and Mia nodded.

"Same." She said

Letty laughed, "dating Vince was like dating your little sister?"  
Mia nudged Letty laughing with her. "You know what I mean Letty."

Letty digested the information she had so much more to learn about Mia.

"I give, her name is Rosa and she's just about the best thing to ever happen to me but hey, I'm not the only one. Guess who had a grown up live in girlfriend not too long ago." Vince said.

Dom flinched just as all the eyes at the table were averted to him, Letty's included but she looked less than impressed.

"Janice." Leon elaborated, "chick was crazy."

"Ease up, she wasn't crazy."

"Dom, she was crazy." Vince said with conviction assuring the rest of them.

"She had a few issues." Dom defended.

"Issues? She was a neurotic germaphobe."

"Yeah okay she had a few hygiene problems she forgot to mention before we moved in."

"Wasn't she afraid of sweat or something too?"

Letty and Mia laughed until their eyes watered and Dom felt defeated rubbing his temple until he relented.

"She wasn't afraid of sweat I don't think it was that serious but she preferred to avoid sweating when she could."

Letty's fork dropped to the plate with a cloud clank. "She didn't like to sweat, didn't you two have sex?"

"Not that it's any of anyone's business but we did...and it was nice."  
Letty was even more amused.

"_Ni-ce_?" She pronounced it like it was a foreign concept and it was for her in the context of sex.

"What kind of sex is nice? How could she not sweat? One of you was doing something wrong." She said while looking at him making Dom smile.

He scratched his jaw trying to hide his widening smile.

"I can assure you," He said pointedly at Letty, "it wasn't me."

"I didn't think it was." She said never breaking eye contact with him completely forgetting Mia was between them stabbing her steak because of the obvious attraction between the two.

"Didn't know we were having sexual tension for dessert." Vince said moments before Mia excused herself from the table and dumped her plate in the sink before returning to her room.

Vince and Leon didn't think anything of it. Dom thought it was the mood swings Letty warned him about but Letty knew exactly what was wrong and she couldn't chide herself enough for it. Letty looked away from Dom breaking the tension.

Thankfully sports was the next topic to float around the table making things less awkward for her and Dom.

* * *

Letty cleaned the table after dinner. She and Dom had just started washing the dishes when Vince and Leon were heading out.

"You two kids behave yourselves while we're gone." Vince said from the doorway. Even Leon who had vowed to marry Letty nodded his agreement as they looked at Dom and Letty touching shoulders while they did the dishes.

"You're delusional." Letty looking at Vince making her miss the flash of disappointment in Dom's eyes.

"Don't think so. You girls might have ESP or something about committed relationships but I have the same thing. Only not about relationships."

"What then?" Letty asked.

"Simple, I can tell when two people want each other."  
Letty and Dom looked at each and the little space that was between and both moved an inch away from each other simultaneously.

Vince frowned at their antics. "You're welcome." He said before they left.

Silence enveloped Dom and Letty as they turned back to the sink filled with dishes. The moment their shoulders touched Letty pulled away.

"You got this right?" Before he answered she was already heading for the stairs. "I'm gonna check on Mia."

Mia was the best excuse she could have used with Dom. She knocked once before Mia unlocked door. She was clearly pissed at Letty shooting lasers at her with her eyes.

"Glad you can take time out of your busy schedule flirting with my brother to come and check up on me."

"I don't know what you're talking about Mi."

"I'm not a idiot. I know flirting when I see it. You promised Letty remember that the next time you make googly eyes at my brother."

"Fine Mia, I won't lie to you. It was flirting but that's as far it went and will go."  
Mia folded her arms stubbornly.

"Come on girlie, it was nothing special, I'm Letty. I flirt with everybody."  
That was a fact Mia couldn't deny.

"I believe you Letty but I just want to get some sleep. Please just go."  
Letty sighed but respected Mia's wishes and left her room. She heard the lock snap as she went back downstairs. The dishes were only half done and Dom was gone.

* * *

By the time she was done with the dishes Dom emerged from the garage, Letty was beginning to think that he was hiding dead bodies in there, he spent more time in the garage than he did in the house. The Torettos sure loved their hiding places. Mia her room and Dom the garage. He sat down in the living room and Letty followed ready to mend the bridges she had burned with her walk of shame. They hadn't talked about it and she felt like that was causing more tension between them and not the good sexual kind.

"Need something?" She forgot what she was about to say when he looked at her and spoke.

"Why did you really break up with Janice?" She chickened out last minute and went a different route to break the ice.

"What do you mean?"

"For some reason I know you're not that kind of person. You wouldn't have left her because of something she couldn't control."

Way freaky that she saw through him so easily Dom thought. He could have shut her off right then and nip it in the bud but...

"I did care about her. But she really was_ nice_. Jan grew up with both parents in a quiet neighbourhood. I thought she was what I needed, normal, no complications. I thought she would make me happy."

"But?"

"But when we moved in together I felt like there were certain things I couldn't talk to her about. My parents, Jesse, Mia and a whole lot more. She didn't know how harsh life could be, there were just some things I couldn't open up to her about. Certain things she wouldn't be able to understand and if she couldn't understand me how was she supposed to be there for me when I needed her? Our relationship could have only gone so far so I ended it before I wasted both of our time."

Letty listened intently. She had the opposite problem with Asher. Both were way too screwed up to be comforted by each other so they turned to drugs instead of the other for support. She had more than a few skeletons in her closet and a pending vengeance so she understood where he was coming from.

"I'm sorry. Maybe one day the girl with just enough baggage will walk into your life." She stood up from the couch and he stood up with her.

"I think she already has."  
He saw her tense up when she looked back at him evidently confirming that he was referring to her.

"This is crazy Dom." She whispered as he advanced on her until she was back up against the wall.

"Do you have any idea the effect you have on men? On me?" He looked her dead in the eye looking for anything, he'd take anything she gave him.

"I can give you a million reasons why we wouldn't work."

He pressed himself into her noting how she didn't make any notion to move or push him away.

"Just say the word and I never speak of it again. I'll leave you alone."  
Letty's stress level was off the scale. Did she do something for herself finally and give in to something she really wanted or stay loyal to a friend in need?

Things were tipping in Dom's favour when his hands settled on her hips. He was leaning in closer but before their lips could meet Mia's door creaked open making them jump apart.

When Mia appeared at the top of the stairs the door to the garage had already slammed shut.

"I can't sleep knowing we're not okay." Mia said sending Letty on a very long guilt trip.

"We're always okay." Letty said, "I hope you feel the same way." Letty's stomach flopped, her decision was made.

"Yeah, it's gonna take more than my idiot brother to drive us apart." They met half way up the flight of stairs and hugged.

"So you and Vince huh?" Letty joked covering up her own jumpiness.

"It was after I ran away the first time. He was just a ploy at the time. I needed everyone to think I would be okay."

"You know if you get clean you and your favourite patrol cop could try something."

"Maybe." Mia smiled. "Now I know we're good I can get some rest."

Letty's smile faded as soon as Mia turned her back and returned to her room.

* * *

She contacted Brian and they spoke for a few hours about Johnny P and how much she needed to get on him and his runners. He told her he had gotten the money and she should make contact and tell him she sold it all.

Work somehow squeezed it's way into her already packed brain. How much longer would she have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. When would she feel like she didn't owe Brian any more and when would the man responsible for the death of her father be brought to justice. She didn't know how much longer she could keep up the charade.

Too much was on her mind so she said goodbye Brian and took a shower to clear her head and get_ him_ out of her system.

* * *

Dom couldn't sleep, too much to think about and analyse. What would she have said if they hadn't been interrupted? How would Mia feel about it? Why did he really run off? If he was being honest with himself, which he wasn't, he would have known that he was scared of her answer. The odds that she felt the same way he did were slim to none. So when there was a knock on his bedroom door at twelve in the morning he was expecting Mia and not Letty.

Wearing just an oversized basketball jersey and a nervous smile he let her into his room.

She was hoisted in his arms before he closed the door and locked it behind her.

* * *

_**TBC**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the wait after that last chapter. This chapter was rewritten a couple times because of should I or shouldn't I but settled on my original idea and I'm sticking with it. **

**XO**

* * *

**Reckless**

**Chapter eight**

Her legs tightened around him and once the door closed she leaned down and kissed him. His hold on her involuntarily tightened when their lips met. It was so worth it, she tasted better than he ever thought and he felt just as good as she'd imagined every time she watched his muscles flex. As soon as the door closed and their lips parted he had her pinned to the back of the door. Their eyes met saying so much but neither made a sound. Dom slowly lowered her so she was at eye level with him but sill hoisted a few inches off the ground. God, she was beautiful and warm and...supposed to be in his arms. Everything about Letty made his hands itch to touch her. The day he could hold her as much as he wanted to would be the day he could die a happy man.

"We should talk," He couldn't keep the heat from his voice and because it was matching the heat in her eyes.

She could feel him hesitating with every inch of his body pressed to hers. Letty could feel her skin begging her to draw him closer to feel his, begging to be wrapped in his arms. She had completely forgotten he had said something. She swallowed hard and slowly nodded. "Yeah we should talk." Their gaze deepened when neither made a move to untangle themselves.  
She smiled, pulling him closer and winding her fingers to the back of his neck. "Maybe later." Dragging his lips to her own, Letty drank in the heat of his body against hers. His hands flattened on the skin of her back, pulling her harder against him and forcing a low moan from her. Clenching a fist in her hair, he deepened the kiss, urgently exploring her mouth. That kiss explained everything there was to explain. Especially how compatible they were, Dom didn't feel the need to hod back with Letty like he did with other women. She gave as good as she got.

Dom gathered her closer, sliding his lips down her throat and his hands along her thigh. "Fuck-" he said lowly once he realized she wasn't wearing anything under the oversized jersey. He planted a soft, open-mouthed kiss against the rapid pulse in her throat, the gentle suction pulling a gasp from her lips and Letty shivered in his arms. The door now the only thing keeping them upright as her knees buckled almost sliding out from his grasp.

Brushing her thumb over his mouth, Letty resisted the urge to kiss him again. One more taste of him and they might not be able to get off the door.

Spreading his hand against her skin as they stumbled to his bed, Dom pulled her hips back against his own, kissing her urgently. The feel of her hand holding his against her skin sent a raging heat to his body and he pulled her closer, groaning at the way it felt. Her hips rocked against his, inviting his hand higher. They fell into his bed and Letty bit her lip to keep from moaning as he climbed over her and lavished her neck with kisses. His kisses travelled up her neck until their lips were inches apart. Letty tangled her legs with his and flipped them so she was on top.

He chuckled lowly at her aggression. His voice sent shivers down her back as his hands pulled her closer and his lips captured hers. She groaned, treasuring the heat of his arms around her. Letty opened to Dom's kiss, reluctantly giving up the feel of his skin under her palms as he hiked up the jersey from her body. His hands trailed over her arms, the lines of her back, skin to skin, reminding her just how little of his skin she could reach.

Digging her nails into his shoulder, she dragged his lips to her own. Breathlessly exploring his mouth, Letty eagerly pulled his shirt out of his waistband, sliding hungry hands underneath the fabric to skin. Peeling the shirt off over his head, she flattened both hands against his chest, trailing her lips along his neck.

He hauled her against his body, wrapping both arms around the bare skin of her waist. "Give me more."  
He flipped them against his hands climbing up her thighs to where she really wanted them but this time right off the bed making them tumble off straight to the floor. Both groaned as they sat up laughing their soap opera scene completely ruined.

"Maybe we really should have been talking." He said rubbing his elbow that was hurt when he cradled her head.  
Letty sat up from the floor and took a seat at the edge of his bed still breathing hard. Dom turned to face her as she played with her hair-band that had fallen out during their escapade.

"I can't do this."

"Don't say it."

"It's not you Dom. I made a promise to your sister and right now I need her to keep trusting me and this isn't the way to do it. God I thought I was going to come in here and forget that I'm not really a selfish person. I shouldn't have come to your room like this. I wasn't thinking."

"Thanks." He scoffed sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant. Mia thinks that everyone leaves her after they get in with you because of Je-."

"Jesse."

Letty regretted saying it, he looked so grim as he got up from the floor and sat next to her.

"I can't blame her."

He palmed his face in his hands and his shoulders sagged. It was like he was carrying a weight on his shoulder and Letty felt for him. She rested her hand on his thigh unsure if it was the right thing to do until he put his hand over hers.

Letty could see how much he had to say and how much he needed to get off his chest but he never said a word. She didn't know what to do she just rested her head on his shoulder. Several deep breaths later she lifted her head as he perked up.

"What exactly did you promise Mia?"

"Just that me and you wouldn't go there. And honestly if we weren't interrupted I would have broken that promise."

"So Mia is the only reason you're not jumping my bones right now?"  
She nodded smiling. "I'm not sure why but we get each other. Mia's head is still fuzzy. When she gets clean I'll talk to her and maybe then we can see what this is."

"That's beginning to feel like light years away."

"It's not." She shrugged. "I should go." She got up and he followed her to the door tenderly holding her hand before she could reach for the door knob.

"Am I going to regret letting you walk out of here?"  
He stepped into her and she held him from around the waist shaking her head as he kissed her again.

"I really like you Dom." She nibbled on her bottom lip contemplating her own decision just a little more.

"Well then, until we're selfish people."

"Yeah I guess so."

She slipped out of his room quietly and into her room falling asleep but not the way she had planned to.

* * *

Dom looked back at his now empty room. He questioned his own sanity. Did he really just have the woman of his dreams pinned to the door and rolling around in his bed. More importantly had he really let her go after she had just told him with her body and words how much she wanted him?

She had made a good point though. Mia was the only family he had left and her addiction was his fault, the very least he could do was not be a stymie in her recovery.

He couldn't decide which bothered him more. Mia forbidding Letty from him or the fact that he slightly agreed with her reasoning. He only hoped Letty didn't see him the way he saw himself. Maybe not being with Letty was his punishment.

He sat down on his bed winded up the night he had.

How was he supposed to sleep smelling like Letty did. He bet his bed was the same, reeking of her heady scent ready to torment him through the night. He was just told the thing he wanted most was off limits making the need for it only stronger. One thing he knew for sure before he closed his eyes was that if trouble had a name it would be Letty.

* * *

Letty was apparently the last to get up. She thought she had somehow been transported to an alternate universe in her sleep. Mia was in the kitchen making pancakes and smiling. None of that made sense to her. Even the fastest of recoveries didn't happen over night.

"Mi? You okay?" Letty asked carefully coming into the kitchen combing through her bed-head.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Mia said flipping a pancake.  
Letty palmed her cheek and shook her head not convinced.

"What have you done with my friend you imposter."

Mia shook herself out of Letty's hold and continued on with her pancakes.

"You're in a really good mood considering the pissy mood you were in yesterday."

"You want chocolate chip or blue berries?" She said ignoring Letty's question.

If Letty didn't know any better she'd swear Mia was high but that was impossible, or was it?

"Chocolate chip."

"Consider it done."

Letty watched silently leaning against the fridge as Mia sprinkled chocolate chips into the pancake batter. Letty couldn't be more confused at the three sixty Mia had done. She didn't buy that it was genuine for a second. It had to be another mood swing.

When they were done she pilled five pancakes on a plate for Letty.

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Would you stop asking that." She drizzled syrup on Letty's pancakes and left her with a big smile on her face.

Mia skipped upstairs and Letty took up the plate of pancakes with her to the garage where she knocked before entering. Dom was facing the door having heard her knock and flashed her a small smile his eyes reminiscent of the previous night.

"So Mia is doing better."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Pancakes?"

"No, Mia. She throws a fit because we were making googly eyes at each other yesterday and today she's making pancakes? That makes no sense."

"What are you talking about? Googly eyes?"

"Is that really all you got from what I said?"

"I'm kidding. Maybe she's just doing better. You said it yourself she's making progress. I'm telling you she's doing better. She even brought me breakfast in bed this morning." He took her hand briefly. "I think you're worrying about nothing." He took a pancake from her plate and folded it into his mouth.

"I don't know." She crossed her ankles leaning against the table making the basketball t-shirt ride up.

Their eyes met when she caught him looking and she cleared her throat despite being in a much more intimate position with him the night before.

"Sorry. I'm gonna go. Just keep an eye on her."

Dom thought she was paranoid he was just glad things were looking up with Mia. The sooner she was thinking clearly the sooner he and Letty could explore their feelings for each other.

"You look adorable first thing in the morning by the way."

He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. "I would say the same but I've never seen you roll out of bed."

"I can suggests at least one way you can." He reached for another pancake but she slapped his hand before he could.

"I'm serious." She stressed.

"And I hear you." He told her seriously.

She left only after she was satisfied he understood it wasn't normal behaviour. She had enough to worry about and Dom keeping his flirting under wraps was the least of her worries. She had another meeting with Johnny P later that day and had to come up with another blatant lie to cover up her whereabouts. She hated lying to them both but the point of being a confidential informant was being confidential and it was for their safety. If she had the chance she'd come clean immediately.

Mia had started the clean up when she came back inside. Letty watched her quietly wondering if she was genuinely doing better. Letty's experience was completely different. The only person she let see her was Brian and most of the time he allowed her to physically abuse him. She apologized to him almost everyday after her recovery for all the slaps he took to the face.

"What are we doing today?" She asked.

Letty's stomach tightened and she set the plate of pancakes down her appetite completely gone.

"I have to step out for a bit today."

"What for?"

"Um...just some errands. Check on the apartment. Maybe check on my mother."

"Your mother?"

"Just in case she feels rejected and stops paying the rent." Another white lie she told Mia, she was on the FBI's payroll.

"Smart girl. You know once I get Dom out of my hair we're moving back in right."  
Letty smiled not letting how uneasy she felt about all that show.

"I know." She began climbing the stairs.

"Bring me back a cigarette please."

"Not going to happen, your brother will have my ass."

"I was only kidding."

"Yeah, sure you were."

* * *

Brian picked her up around the corner and from the safe house she drove to the address Kayla had sent her. They had been texting quite a lot and without her even knowing it Kayla was turning into an asset for Letty.

She met up with Johnny P and his friends at his house. Letty knew for sure he wouldn't have kept any contraband at his house but she didn't how to casually asks if maybe he had a warehouse filled with drugs and cash.

Brian told her if she did locate his cash house that was all he would need to take down the bastard for good. The way Brian spoke about Johnny P Letty thought he was some kind of monster but watching him dance with Kayla in the middle of his kitchen it was hard to believe. Either Brian had gotten some wrong information about him or Johnny P had to faces and hid the other very well. When he saw her he spun Kayla to another person on the 'dance floor' and approached her.

She tossed him the wad of cash and he smiled as he caught it.

"I knew you were the right choice." Johnny said.

"I didn't know you were having doubts." She leaned against his kitchen counter and he followed suit a few feet in front of her.

"Not really. You made quite the impression. On the both of us." He pointed to Kayla dancing with Asher. Letty rolled her eyes at the sight of him.

"Here's how it works. I'll give you twice as much of the product as I gave you last time. You sell that I give you twice that amount until you're ready for the big leads."

"What do I get paid for the big leads?"

"Anything you want." He said enticingly and Letty thought he really needed to get over himself.

"I want the name of your X supplier."

"Ah, you want the source. Why?"

"Like you said, I have a special taste for it. That asking too much?"

"He's a trusted friend. How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't." She said dryly.

"It's hard saying no to you Letty. I'll make you a deal, you run for me a couple more times I give you everything I have on him."

"You've got yourself a deal."

Asher dropped a beer making Letty look over at him scowling just the same.

"Gonna have to get used to seeing him around dollface, he's one of the best pushers I got."

She frowned turning away from Asher back to Johnny P. "I know he is. I've known the idiot since high school, well since I was in high school."

"Somebody had herself a sugar daddy."

"It wasn't like that. He was only a few years older than me. He dropped out. What can I say, I like the bad boys. Men who can get a little angry and not apologize for it."

Johnny smirked completely misunderstanding what and who she was talking about. Regardless of the feelings of his girlfriend only a few feet behind him he closed the gap between him and Letty.

"I really hope you find that guy with just enough bottled up anger for you."  
Letty slowly pushed him away.

"I already have." She picked up a beer from the counter next to him and walked away looking around the house.

He lived well but that didn't surprise her, Brian had told her how much he made in the business. She went through the back door and breathed in the fresh air. Surprisingly no one was outside by the pool. She sat on a lawn chair next to the pool twirling the beer in her hands. She really didn't want any drip of alcohol in her system not since her hangover from hell the last time she partied with them.

"The party is inside." Kayla said from behind her.

Letty looked back at her and patted the lawn chair next to her. Kayla sat nursing a cocktail of her own.

"Exactly, your boyfriend can't hit on me out here so it's as good as I'll get."

"Still at it huh? He must be really interested. He usually gets bored and moves on."

"Don't think too much into it. Men like what they can't have." Letty told her.

Kayla drank up every word Letty said. It was clear to Kayla since the first time she met Letty that she knew the ins and outs of the lifestyle.

"Tell me something." Letty said.

"Anything."

"I'm sure he had flings but Johnny can have any woman-well almost any woman he wants. Why do you think he's stayed with you all this time?"

"I've known him since we were kids. Loved him before he ran an empire. I guess I'm the only one around him he knows doesn't hang around for a high or the money. At the end of the day I think he comes home to me because he needs to. I need him to you know, the day I turned eighteen he took me out of the foster care system and in with him. I owe him that much I guess."

"Well I can see why you don't want to leave this place." Letty stretched out on the lawn chair getting more comfortable.

"Exactly, there are some perks."

Talking with Kayla brought her back to her time with Asher. He would bring her jewellery or expensive handbags they'd have sex completely high and fight about something when the morning came only to start the cycle over again when he would buy her gifts to compensate for his many shortcomings. Letty was too high to remember most of their arguments but it always ended with either angry sex or a lavish gift.

The memories nauseated her and she downed her beer in one go. Maybe she did need the alcohol after all.

* * *

Dom went to get a drink inside after twelve that evening to find Mia actually out of her bedroom watching TV, or at least he thought she was watching TV. She was just staring blankly at the TV screen while she flipped through the channels with even less mirth.

"Where's Letty?"

"She's doing errands."

"How'd she leave I have the key."

"You probably forgot you gave it to her I watched her walk out of that door using keys. You'll have to flirt with yourself today."

"Could you not rub it in. She chose you."

She stopped her channel surfing for a moment and sighed softly.

"She told you that?"

"She didn't use those nice words but yeah that's what she basically told me."

"She's awesome like that." Mia said.

"Where did you meet her anyway?"

"I can't remember the name of the bar but she was dancing on the bar counter in stiletto heels when I came in and I just thought this girl has got to be the coolest person I've ever met."

"So?"

"So I bought her a shot of patron and because I don't want another lecture I'm not going to tell you about the trouble we got into that night but we spent the like an hour or two in jail. Letty knows ah guy I guess because we got released in no time, no paperwork or anything they just let us go. I crashed with her that night and when I was about to leave the next morning she asked me where I was going. I was crashing Chloe's couch and she told me I wasn't going anywhere."

"Wow."

"I'm not sure where I'd be without Letty."

"Probably not here getting clean. She sounds like a good friend."

"Trust me you have no idea. You're not going to take her away from me Dom."

Dom even believed her when she said it.

"Mia I'm sorry about Jesse. Just in case I never said it to you."  
He went back to the garage after that leaving her with that. At the very least they had just had an honest conversation with out blood or tears.

* * *

Letty drove to the safe-house barely keeping the car steady. She may have had more than one beer outside by the pool with Kayla. So much for her strike with alcohol.

"One foot at a time." Brian said helping her out of the car aware of her intoxicated state.

"I'm not that dru-" She stumbled right into Brian's waiting arms. "Maybe I had a teensy bit too much."

"Just a teensy?" He helped her inside and took the fanny pack of drugs from her.

"How much is this?"

"A lot, I can totally get him to trust me. It helps that he wants to get into my pants."

"They all want to get into your pants."

"No but Johnny really really wants to get into my pants. Are you sure about him?" She stumbled into the house and Brian led her to the couch.

"He seems like your regular run of the mill drug dealer just ten times hornier with excellent taste in women." She chuckled.

"Okay, let's get some coffee in your system before I drop you off."

"I'm not drunk Brian." She watched him move around the kitchen as he put a pot to brew. "Oh my gosh did I ever tell you how much I love your hair. It's like the boy Barbie."

"I can't believe you drove like this." Brian said sitting next to her while the coffee brewed.

"Me either." She laid her head back on the couch. He was not sending her back to the Torettos in that state.

* * *

Dom watched Letty quietly let herself into the house eleven that night.

"You had the keys copied?" He was sitting on the step peeved off.

"Yeah I did." Letty was completely sober but just sober enough to hold her own against him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm grown Dom, I can't ask for your permission to leave the house every time I want to."

"I know all that. It's unnerving when you're not in the house."

"You like keeping tabs on me. Believe me you don't want to know where I go."

"That doesn't make me feel better." He growled.

"I wasn't trying to make you feel better."

"You smell like alcohol don't bring that kinda lifestyle back in Mia's life."

"Screw you. I only have Mia's best interest in mind. Don't try and make this about her when you're the one who's not happy about it. I thought we discussed this. It's not going to happen, not without Mia's approval. Now is this interrogation over?" She was getting angrier by the minute as he pushed all the right buttons.

"It's not, you're going to ruin her."

"Me? You ruined everything!"

"Me?"

She sighed not having a fight in her, not that particular night. She might as well have told him.

"I've been trying to get Mia clean for almost year now. It would have worked out fine if you had't ambushed her and walk all over my plan."

"What plan?"

"I've been diluting her fixes."

"You're not making any sense." Dom was so out of touch with the life she and Mia led everything that came out of her mouth must have sounded like another language.

"It's quite simple actually. She would usually score at the end of the night before we went home. She would crash and I would just switch out the ones she bought with the bags I diluted. She almost always got high before we went out for the night, she could never really tell."

"How would you even do that?"  
She couldn't tell him her friends at the FBI took care of everything but she also didn't want to lie to him. Well lie to him more than she already was.

"It's not rocket science. You can use sugars or baking powder. The body thinks it's getting high so it reacts the same way. She would just think it was a weak bash. It's really not hard to trick an addict."

"Does it work?"

"It worked for me." She said looking up at him to see his reaction.

"You're clean?"

"C'mon, you're no idiot. You knew that."

"I suspected. You're so secretive I can't be sure of anything when it comes to you."

"That's not by choice Dom."

"There you go again with all your cryptic bullshit. If you're clean why do you smell like the inside of a bar right now. Where were you?"

"It doesn't work like that." She climbed the stairs slowing down when she was in front of him. "Oh and Mia didn't bring you breakfast in bed because she's coming around. You blocked up every window in the house except for your own. I think she was checking it out. It's what I would have done. I'd keep a closer eye on her for the next few days."

He couldn't ignore Letty's insight any more. He felt extremely stupid he had been tricked so blindly. Before he even thought about it he had punched the wall beside him.

Letty took his hand before he did it again and inspected his pink knuckles with a small smile.

"What?" Dom's eyebrows furrowed when she smiled.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "You're an angry guy Dom." She walked upstairs leaving Dom more confused than anything. He couldn't get that smile out of his head.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Things will get sticky these next few chapters just warning you readers that there will be cliffhangers. **

* * *

**Reckless**

**Chapter nine**

Mia's pacing on the old floor boards of the house made it impossible for Dom to do his work and for Letty to get caught up on some much needed sleep. It had been two weeks and she rarely got in before twelve in the night. She didn't see much of Dom as she usually slept through the day while he was cooped up in the garage with his work. She figured he took the news fairly well, the little they saw of each other weren't awkward or tense. He was probably too busy undressing her with his eyes to be mad at her. She stirred again when the creaking got too persistent to ignore.

Letty and Dom met up outside Mia's bedroom door both seeming to have the same idea with the creaking floorboards. They rapped on her door together after exchanging brief smiles.

"What?" She said exasperated like she was the one who had something to be annoyed about when she swung her door open.

"Would you stop with the pacing. I can't concentrate. Please." Dom pleaded.

"I can't. I'm losing my mind here."

"That much we know." Letty murmured with a smile watching as the tension went from zero to ten between the two siblings.

"I want some air. I need to get out of this house or my pacing is going to be the least of your worries."

"The least of my worries... listen you brat..." Dom begun pointing a finger in Mia's direction. Letty stepped in between the two trying to bore holes into each others head with their glares.

"Fine, you can go out." Letty said taking Dom's finger in her hands and diverting it.

"Like hell she is." He snarled as Letty pushed him away from Mia's room.

"What are you doing?" He whispered.

"Just trust me." Letty said pulling him down the stairs smirking, she had a plan that would either backfire in her face or go down perfectly.

* * *

"This is not what I had in mind." Mia growled under her breath as Dom and Letty followed behind her as they entered the movie theatre. "I feel like I'm thirteen." She folded her arms.

"Is this enough air for you?" Dom teased.

Letty laughed and gave him a high-five behind Mia's back.

"You two tricked me."

"Okay pouty you can choose the movie." Letty told her and she dragged her feet all the way to the ticket boot once Dom put money in her hands.

"What do you think?" Dom asked Letty when Mia was out of ear shot.

"I think she's smiling on the inside. It's been a while since she felt normal, this is good for her. Even if she doesn't let you know it. I know better."

Dom nodded, "Why the movies though?"

Letty shrugged, "Doesn't everybody like the movies? Plus it's the only place I think she'd have fun beside a bar or a club."

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Letty said wrapping her arms around herself for some warmth. She didn't count for the cold air conditioning in the movie theatre when she and Mia changed into tank tops and shorts.

Dom watched her and fought the urge to wrap her in his arms.

"I'd give you my jacket but..."

"I know. What's the question?"

"Are you even single Letty? Mia keeps hinting at some guy you spend a lot of time, is that why you're gone at the night? If I've stepped on anybody's toes I'm sorry."

Letty scoffed. "No you're not."

"Fine I was just being polite. You didn't answer my question."

"There is no guy. He's just a friend. A really good friend. I'm single."

"Good." He smirked.

"But does it matter?" She asked directing her gaze at Mia.

"Guess not. Not right now at least." He said it making it clear that he had every intention to wait.

She changed the topic purposely staring the conversation away from talking about something that would only make them depressed. They talked about movies until Mia had made it to the front of the line at the ticket booth.

Mia came back with Brian in tow and Letty smiled at her own doing. She had figured out what made her and Mia's rehabilitation so different and it was the lack of motivation. Letty had so much to get clean for she mentally wanted to do it. She thought that Brian could help with that, she couldn't be Mia's only motivation because Mia definitely wasn't doing it for Dom.

"Look who I ran into." Mia said grinning at Brian.

"Dom this is Brian." Letty introduced them. Dom didn't know why the cop kept popping up.  
Dom shook Brian's hand tentatively making Letty chuckle softly.  
"Anyway I'm going to watch Attack of the Zombies with him." Mia said gripping him by the arm.

"You two can get your own damn tickets." Mia said handing Letty the money Dom had given her. "I'll meet you outside in two hours." Brian and Mia left Dom and Letty alone. Letty was too busy gloating at her plan in motion to notice how tense Dom had become.

She touched his arm before he could protest.

"Relax, he's a cop. I'm sure she's in good hands." She said pulling him away but Letty could still feel him tense up. "We'll just watch something else."

"'_We_' as in you and me?" She watched him smile shaking her at what he was implying.

"It's not a date and only if you behave yourself."

"What do you mean by behave?" He asked suggestively.

"You go pick a movie and I'll get the snacks." She told him before they went in the opposite directions.

Letty met Brian at the snack counter where he had been waiting for her. "Where's Mia?"

"Already in her seat. You said you wanted to see me."

"Only because if I told you to come and keep Mia company you would have stayed at home and make up crappy excuses."

"I'm actually glad you did all this."

"Good, I do actually think she needed a change of scenery. Remember when you took me to the circus."

"Did I really take you? You forced my hand. Let's hope she doesn't try and run away like you did."

Letty laughed. "I told you I was only looking for corn-dogs."

Brian shook his head still not buying it after all those years. "No even if she doesn't want to admit it she really does want to get clean. She's just not keen on all that comes with it. She has to face everything she tried to bury with the drugs."  
"She seems like she's doing better you know."

"So you're not mad at me."

He shook his head no.

"Glad you feel that way because you're paying for my popcorn."

* * *

Dom simply asked for tickets to the scariest movie that was showing and waited for Letty in front of theatre three. He looked out for her and found her walking toward the theatres with Brian next to her. He didn't know why they looked so chummy but forgot about it when Letty approached him with a smile after Brian went into another theatre.

He returned her smile as she handed him a large bowl of popcorn and followed him into the dark theatre.

* * *

Letty lay on her bed blankly looking up at the ceiling fan spinning around. Her fingers were lightly tracing over her lips when her phone rang. It was Kayla so she got up and closed the door before answering.

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked eagerly.

"I'm um uh...hanging with some guy I met." Letty hated herself for every lie she told but there was noway she was up for another night of pretending. She had a somewhat normal evening with Dom and Mia and she wasn't in the mood to put on a skimpy dress and get drunk.

"Good for you. I'm not interrupting am I?"

"No he's-in the bathroom. What's up with you?"

"Ugh, don't get me started. Johnny is out with some new guy he has pushing for him and I just thought we could do something but who I'm not going to interrupt your night. I'll see you later."

"Wait Kay um I can ditch him."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not. If you asked me he probably won't be that good."

Kayla laughed. "Okay fine, where do you wanna meet?"

"Anywhere where they don't serve alcohol. I think I've had a hangover for over a week now."

"Yeah, I could do with some carbs though."

"Oh I know a quiet coffee house with the best doughnuts. They're open around the clock."

"Sounds like a plan. Text me your address I'll come pick you up."

"Okay. I'll see you in twenty."

Letty went to check on Mia after she got off the phone with Kayla.

"How was your _movie_?" Letty asked later that night innuendo obvious in her voice.

"_He_ was really cool. It's a lot different seeing him without his uniform. I don't know...I liked the way he looked at me, he's a cool guy."

"Only cool?" Letty said getting onto the small twin bed next to Mia barely fitting on the bed with her.

"He actually listened to everything I said. We forgot about the movie and talked the entire time."

That could have been said about Dom and Letty's movie as well. But there was very little talking. Letty couldn't help but think back to the their kiss in the dark movie theatre only hours ago. Guilt tightened up her chest as she looked over at Mia.

"So what do you think of him?"

"I think he has potential...that's why..."

"That's why what?"

"That's why I told him yes to dinner tomorrow night. I just hope Dom-"

"I'll handle Dom." Letty squealed excitedly.

"Who would have thought? Me and a cop."

"I did. I've been telling you that since the first time he pulled us over."

"What are the odds that he was at the same movie theatre as us tonight. I mean that has to be sign right?"

Letty laughed nodding. "Yup. Must be fate or something. I'll be back."

Letty left Mia's room and called Brian as she closed the door behind her.

"So you asked her out?"

"Yeah, I thought you'd be happy I did."

"No I am. Just making sure. You didn't trust me when I was getting clean either so I just thought I'd check. I'm happy for you. Oh um before I forget I'm going out tonight with Kayla."

"Kayla...that's the girlfriend right?"

"Uhuh."

"What are you working on?"

"Nothing, I just think I can get her to leave him. She's a sweet girl and I don't want her caught in the crossfire when shit goes down."

"Letty." He said in a strained voice she knew too well.

"What?"

"You're over extending yourself. You have to slow down. You can't save them all."

"Brian I know what I'm doing. I'll leave all this behind once I get the man who murdered my father."

"Letty,"

"I'm fine Brian. Could you come drop me off at the safe-house. Kayla will be there soon."

"Yeah I'm on my way." She heard the hesitation in his voice but knew he'd come anyway.

* * *

Letty hope she could have slipped out of the house unnoticed by Dom but he was just about to climb up the stairs while she was on her way down. She suddenly didn't know what to say to him. Luckily he spoke first.

"Should we talk about what happened?"

"I'm on my way out. Aren't things complicated enough without us talking about it?"

"Out where? Where does Mia think you're going?"

"To get coffee and doughnuts. Did you ever consider that coffee and doughnuts might actually be coffee and doughnuts."

"Just lock up when you get in." Dom said dismissively brushing passed her up the stairs. What was she thinking? If she and Dom ever got together he would never accept what she did for Brian. If he got upset without even knowing what she really got up to then he would blow a gasket if he knew.

She walked to the corner and got into Brian's car not knowing that Dom had watched from his bedroom window.

* * *

Letty and Kayla didn't spend even half an hour together before Johnny called and asked her to come home. She let herself into the house and climbed the stairs to Mia's room. She didn't want to think about the back-forth she and Dom had been doing lately.

"So what are you going to wear tomorrow night?" Letty asked from Mia's doorway. Mia was busy on her phone when Letty came back.

"I dunno." Mia turned on her side making more space for Letty as laid down next to her.

"Something slutty."

"Not necessarily, this guy doesn't want to stick his hand in your pants, well not right away at least. He's a good guy Mia. You must at least have a dress long enough so I don't see your ovaries."

"Something will turn up." Mia shrugged.

"I can lend you something."

"That's a good one cause you're closet is filled with conservative dresses."

Letty nudged her but she was right. They laughed about it.

"Oh I brought you back doughnuts. They're in the fridge but you should probably get to them before Vince's next visit."

"You had better. What is up with all your midnight cravings lately? Today it's doughnuts, last week it was mineral water. My head may be a little fuzzy but there is no way a run to the seven eleven takes that long. Do you meet up with the mystery guy when you go out so late. Didn't know you still had it in you."

"It's nothing." Letty snuggled into the pillow. Her way of saying she was sleeping there tonight without actually saying it.

* * *

Dom climbed the stairs intent on sneaking passed Mia's room to Letty's room. He wanted to see where she stood after their movie escapade. Regardless of the way he felt about her leaving the house it was obvious it wasn't going to stop so he would have to adjust to just not knowing. Wherever she went and whoever she was with she wanted to keep a secret and though it bothered him he couldn't do anything to change it. The only he could do was make sure she knew he was there and ready to listen if she ever decided to share.

He wasn't sure who leaned in first but before the coming soon on the last preview his fingers were tangled in her hair and she was losing the battle for dominance of the kiss. That was how they spent most of the movie. Just before the credits began to roll she pulled away and hadn't said a word to him since.

He didn't think there was need to be worried. It wasn't uncomfortable and she gave him a small smile before she got into the car behind Mia. What he wanted to know was where that left them. Was it a one time thing were they now friends with benefits. Or did she make the decision for both of them to do something about their feelings for each other. Something told him that it wasn't either and it was just something that happened beyond either of their control.

Mia's door was ajar and that in itself was strange. She was always locked in her room. He went to close it and saw Mia and Letty asleep barely fitting on the small mattress, it made him smile to himself. The fact that she put Mia first just made him like her even more.

He took off the light and closed in the door. They would have have the talk some time else.

* * *

Letty woke up with a sore neck but that served her right for falling asleep on the small bed with bed. She stretched realizing the girl wasn't next to her.

"Mia?"

"Up here." She swung her head down so Letty could see she was on the top bunk with her phone texting.

"Who's that?" Letty asked pointing to the phone.

"Nobody." She climbed off the top bunk as Letty sat up. "What do you think about eggs for breakfast?" She asked as she passed Letty on her way out.

"Sounds good." Letty called after her. Once she left Letty picked up her phone and checked her recent call log.

**_TRAVIS_**

"You've got to be kidding me," Letty muttered under her breath. She took Mia's phone with her to her room, put it on vibrate and hid it under her mattress.

"Damn it Mia. What are you planning to do."


End file.
